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Former captain of the England national team and one of the leaders, Alan Shearer, has decided to postpone the end of his professional football career for a year and extended his contract with the club until 2006.
The 34-year-old veteran had promised to end his career next summer, but was convinced by Newcastle manager Graeme Souness to extend his contract and was given a new role, in which he will not only be a player, but also have some coaching responsibilities.
This decision means that Shearer is likely to become the club's all-time leading scorer, as he is only 9 goals away from Jackie Milburn's record of 200 goals reached in the sixth decade.
"I am continuing my career because my game was at a level that I am satisfied with, and more importantly, the coach and club president were also satisfied," Shearer said. "I think I made the right decision. Maybe I won't score as many goals as before, but I feel that my contribution to the team's game is greater than last season or the seasons before."
A. Shearer, who started his career at the highest level with Southampton, moved to Blackburn for 5 million euros in 1992 and won the Premier League with this team in the 1994-95 season. Later, the player refused to move to Man Utd and transferred to his hometown club Newcastle for a record 22 million euros.
In the England national team, A. Shearer scored 30 goals in 63 matches, and he ended his career in the team after the 2000 European Championship. Now the Englishman will aim to win the UEFA Cup tournament with his team, as Newcastle will face the Lisbon Sporting club in the quarterfinals.
