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Hatem Ben Arfa has been fined by Newcastle United for being too fat and will be pushed out of the club this summer.

Alan Pardew was allegedly so furious with the player’s condition on his return to pre-season training, that he hit him in the pocket to the tune of €2000, according to a report today in Le Parisien.

They claim Ben Arfa returned from holiday 1.5 kilograms over the required weight limit, but that the player himself denies this and says any extra weight he gained was in fact muscle.

The 27-year-old, who remains the favourite player of many Newcastle fans, has looked to be carrying extra pounds when captured by camera over the past two weeks.

This would be the second summer in a row that he was found to be over the weight limit.

Ben Afra won’t be going to New Zealand this week with the squad, having been told to train with the reserves, and with a year to go on his current contract, if these claims are true, it seems that it would be best for all if Newcastle could sell the player.

But that is easier said than done.

Three years ago, Liverpool were on the trail of the mercurial star and a fee of £20m was quoted.

However, Newcastle have received no real interest for the one-time talisman and his adviser, Michel Ouazine, has been quoted as saying his player could stay on Tyneside for one more year so he could leave on a free next summer.