The former defensive midfielder made the move from Bayern Munich to Newcastle in 1998 but spent just one season with the Magpies before heading to Anfield
Abbie Meehan Sports Writer U-35s
09:00, 04 Feb 2026
Didi Hamann would’ve liked a longer stint at Newcastle(Image: Gary M Prior/Allsport)
Didi Hamann admitted he would’ve liked to have spent longer at Newcastle United but believed signing for Liverpool was an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.
With two of Hamann’s former clubs, Newcastle and Manchester City, facing one another in a crucial midweek battle, he will likely be one of many former Premier League stars tuning in to the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.
The German midfielder swapped the Bundesliga for the Premier League in 1998 after appearing at the World Cup in France. He signed an initial five-year deal with the Magpies in a £5.5million transfer after turning down Real Madrid to move to England.
Speaking to FourFourTwo in 2023, Hamann claimed his decision was made easy thanks to Sir Kenny Dalglish’s desire to sign him. He said: “We had many excellent players at Bayern, but we never gelled as a team. I always felt that , in order to fulfil my potential, I needed to leave.
“After the 1998 World Cup in France, Real Madrid were interested, but the keenest approach was Newcastle with Kenny Dalglish in charge. My mind was made up straight away, and I enjoyed it.
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“Sometimes it wasn’t as professional as Bayern, like their training ground and things, but I found a team with plenty of spirit. It was a disappointing year, however. We reached the FA Cup final, but didn ’t do as well as expected in the Premier League [finishing 13th].”
However, Hamann spent just a year at Newcastle before he signed for rivals Liverpool. He made 31 appearances, scoring five goals and assisting four times before moving on to Merseyside in 1999.
At Anfield, the midfielder pulled on the Liverpool jersey 283 times, scoring 11 goals and winning a multitude of cups – including the 2005 Champions League trophy. Hamann became an icon at Anfield but admitted he would’ve liked to have stayed at Newcastle for longer.
The German midfielder spent just one season with the Magpies(Image: Clive Brunskill /Allsport)
Discussing his exit on That Peter Crouch Podcast, the German said: “It was great [at Newcastle]. Bit short, I would have liked to stay a bit longer. I signed for a longer time but when Liverpool came calling it was hard to turn it down.
“It’s never a nice thing to leave clubs and tell the club and the fans that you are off after one season, but I liked it because the people loved the football up there, great sense of humour. It was brilliant. I really enjoyed it but when I had the chance to go to Liverpool I saw it as an opportunity I had to take.”
At the time, the Newcastle dressing room was in turmoil following Dalglish’s exit from the club and Ruud Gullit’s arrival at the helm. Hamann insisted Gullit wasn’t the reason for his exit, adding: “Nah, it wasn’t that. I got injured in one of my first games for the club against Liverpool under Ruud, his first match.
“We lost 4-1 and Michael Owen got a hat-trick. I was out with a medial ligament injury in my knee. I was out for nine weeks. At the time we had Gary Speed, Rob Lee, Nobby Solano all battling.
Hamann joined City after a successful period at Liverpool(Image: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
“When I came back in November didn’t get straight back in the team. I spoke to Ruud and said, ‘What [are] we going to do if I’m not playing, it’s no good to anyone.’
“So they said to me, ‘If you find a club where we get our money back in the summer then we have a solution.’ Then I started scoring a few goals during the spring and had a good end to the season.
“That gave me the chance to go to Liverpool. It was an opportunity I liked to take up. These things never feel good because I had a great time and the way they welcomed me at Newcastle was second to none. At the same time, we had good players, but we weren’t the best team we could have been.”
After spending seven years with Liverpool, Hamann looked set to join Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2006. However, after spending less than a day as a Bolton player, the German agreed a deal with City and went on to make 71 appearances in Manchester.
It is clear that Hamann’s career as a Liverpool player will stand out the most as a highlight, but the German has Newcastle and Dalglish to thank for bringing him to England to shine in the Premier League.
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