Former Newcastle United forward Yoan Gouffran, who spent two years with Turkish side Göztepe, was signed by Armenian Premier League champions Ararat-Armenia in February 2020.
French player spent 4 years at Newcastle United. He scored 19 times in over 100 appearances for The Magpies, helping the club regain their English Premier League status in the 2016/17 Championship title-winning campaign.
The club have held further discussions with the 33-years old player about a new deal in summer 2017, but the Frenchman decided to leave England.
Rafael Benitez is happy to see Yoan Gouffran reaping the rewards of his hard work after Newcastle's 2-0 win over Wolves
Former Newcastle manager
Rafael Benitez (Newcastle United manager 2016-2019) wanted him to stay at the team.
He ( had
said to in May 2017:
“Yoan Gouffran has been an equally committed and dedicated team-player for this club, as well as a hugely popular member of the squad.
“I can confirm we are in early-stage discussions now with Yoan’s agent to see if there might be a solution that could work for both the player and the club which may see Yoan extend his service to Newcastle United, but we will know more in the coming days.”
However, the Frenchman has turned down the chance to sign a new contract extension with Newcastle United and left for Turkish side Göztepe.
Speaking exclusively to VbetNews Gouffran reveals, why he rejected a contract extension and has opened up on his relationship with Rafael Benitez.
I have always had a good relationship with Rafael Benitez. He is smart guy and I improved a lot to while I was at Newcastle. He wanted me to stay but he had some problems with the board they wanted to give me one year contract but I wanted more.
He 'fought' for me to get a new contract but they wanted the only year and I decided to decline because I wanted to secure my future and don’t think about what will happen next year.
