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Outside, there was a heat wave. Inside Newcastle’s team hotel, the mercury was rising too.

It was July 2011, Newcastle’s ill-starred tour of America. United were in the process of dismantling a team full of strong voices in the dressing room. On Twitter, Jose Enrique – unsettled, with talk of interest from elsewhere affecting his judgement – found his.

The context was a club which had sold Andy Carroll and club captain Kevin Nolan. A new approach – Yohan Cabaye was signed from Lille – did not impress some of the senior figures in that dressing room and many supporters shared that worry.

Tapping out a Tweet which would set the blue touchpaper under a club struggling to justify the change in direction, Enrique wrote: “The club is allowing all the major players of the team to go. Seriously, do you think it is the fault of the players? Andy [Carroll], nobby [Kevin Nolan] etc etc. This club will never again fight to be among the top six again with this policy.”

Paying tribute to the club’s fans, he said: “I think you fans are the best and you deserve the best, not what they are doing with the club. Thanks to everyone for supporting me.”

It changed everything. Enrique left for Liverpool shortly afterwards: six years on and there remains a pang of regret about the way it ended.

(Image: Newcastle United)

“For me, I know that the way I left ruined the relationship that I had with many Newcastle fans,” he admits, speaking from Valencia just a few weeks after announcing his retirement from professional football.

Newcastle were his best times in football, he says. “I know now that I should never have written what I did about the club not getting into the top six. It was disrespectful to the supporters and it was a moment of madness for me. I was mad with the club because of the way it was behaving at the time.

“I was very happy at Newcastle . I loved the club and still carry it in my heart. They were the club that gave me a chance in England and we shared some brilliant moments – I was proud to be part of the team that took Newcastle back to the Premier League and I think that first season we were all excited about what might happen.

“But the club was selling its best players. I thought they did not want to challenge to be the best in England and I allowed my frustration to get the better of me. It was a moment of madness.”

He knew of interest from Liverpool, who had signed Andy Carroll from Newcastle the previous January. He’d hoped United would give him a decision to make by indicating that they wanted to compete – financially and in terms of taking on the top six – but the indications were very different. He felt the team’s heart was being ripped out.

“I was a really, really happy at Newcastle and I think I was playing really, really well but I saw Liverpool investing in players and trying to achieve. They were spending big – they wanted to get to the Champions League,” he says.

(Image: Newcastle United)

“But it is interesting. For me, the two clubs are not so different. Of course Liverpool have had more success but the potential for Newcastle to be at the same level is there – but I don’t think they were acting like they wanted to be at that level.

“I know fans were mad with me and I understand why. Hopefully they understand now, looking back, why I left. If they had an offer for a better job, with better money maybe they would make the same decision. But I know my moment of madness was a problem for many.”

Of course, Newcastle – renewed with fresh blood – finished fifth the following year, their best finish with the Mike Ashley approach that Enrique railed again. The supporters sang about it.

Reminded of the chant, Enrique laughs. “It was very funny that they were singing that. Of course, I didn’t mind because I had said it in the first place and I was not unhappy that the club was doing well because the supporters deserve that.

“But of course the next year they struggled and the year after and after that and they were relegated again. The approach they had was not the way for success. The same owner is there and you see some of the same problems at Newcastle, so I don’t understand sometimes the way they do things.

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“They are in a much better place than when I left. They have one of the best managers in the world in Rafa Benitez and when I look at where they are in the league, it should not be a surprise. If you play at Newcastle, you know that they can compete for fourth in the Premier League. I hope they have more success and with Benitez, they can do that. When I was at Liverpool, many of the coaches and players had played under Benitez and they still talked very well about him.

“I played for Liverpool and Newcastle in England. I can say with pride I played for two of the biggest clubs in England.”

Retirement – at the age of 31 – has brought a fresh perspective on his career in England. He made 127 appearances for Newcastle and felt “at home” – labelling it the happiest of his career.

“When I knew of Newcastle’s interest I only knew of Alan Shearer , that the club had played in Europe the season before and that it was colder than home!” he said.

“But my times there were fantastic. It is a passionate, crazy place and we went through a lot but I loved the stadium, the supporters and the city. When we were relegated the fans stayed with us and that was amazing. We had 7,000 fans at away games: I had friends to stay and they could not believe that. I said ‘It’s every week, mate’.”

The move to Liverpool brought frustration at unfulfilled potential. Enrique says there are “no regrets” – he meant his current partner in Liverpool – but injuries stifled his progress. They also prevented a return to St James’ Park two years ago.

(Image: ugc)

“I had a chance to come back before Rafa (Benitez). Steve McClaren was the manager and he wanted me back and there was an offer from Newcastle. It was the January of 2015 and there was a contract for me of two to three years – it would have been a good contract and a chance to return to the city I loved but I decided not to do it,” he said.

“To be honest I wasn’t sure about myself and my injuries. I was struggling physically and – to be honest – I knew I would be sh*t for them. I could have taken the money and sat on the bench or in the stands but it was Newcastle and I felt I couldn’t do that.

“When I was there the first time I played good football and I knew if I went back, I wasn’t the same player. It would have ruined what happened for me the first time. I didn’t want people to look back and think ‘Maybe he was sh*t after all’.

“It was a good contract. I only had six months left at Liverpool so it made sense to take it but I wanted to end on a high. I couldn’t go back and not give it my all.”

Given that information, it is understandable that he decided to end his career this summer. Enrique announced his retirement earlier this month after battling with a persistent knee injury which – he admits – laid waste to the final years of his professional career.

(Image: Getty Images)

It was – he freely admits – the “toughest decision of his life”. “Football is a beautiful life and I have loved playing football for some brilliant clubs,” he says. “But by the end it was too difficult for me. It was not me playing on the pitch anymore.”

A period of mental and physical torment that encapsulated the final, desperate years at Anfield and an attempt at a fresh start back in Spain threatened to cloud Enrique’s naturally sunny disposition. He was told by a succession of doctors in England that his problem was psychological, but the pain was real enough to make him dizzy during training and matches.

He faced criticism for posting upbeat pictures of holidays and days out on his social media accounts during a prolonged absence from the Liverpool team but the reality – away from the camera – was very different. His professional life was coming apart at the seams. He had an operation on a broken meniscus but the pain – chronic, agonising – did not go away. At times even walking was hard. It did not help that there was a perception that he was shirking – that his injury wasn’t real. He suffered panic attacks and anxiety. At the age of just 31, he has had no choice but to confront the physical and emotional pain and walk away from the sport.

“It was a very, very difficult decision for me but it is something I have been thinking about a lot in recent years,” he said.

“Last season I was playing with Real Zaragoza in the second division in Spain and my body was not letting me play the way I wanted to play – the way I know I can play. I do not want to sound disrespectful but I know what kind of player I am and this was the second division and I was struggling. I had a two-year contract and wanted to have a long career there but I had to walk away after one year. It was not the real me playing for Zaragoza last season so I am confident that it is the right decision to walk away from the life of professional football.”

A new start in business awaits. “I’m going to train as a football agent along with my brother – it’s a new moment in my life and I am looking forward to it.

“It is not the same as football but my brother already represents players in the first and second division in Spain so it is not as if I am starting right at the bottom of the profession. I have a lot of experience of the football business – good and bad – I can hopefully help players coming through to make the most of their careers. It is a beautiful life but it is not always easy and sometimes you need help from someone who has been through it before.”

At the moment the players in the Enrique agency are based in Spain. He would have no hesitation recommending a move to Newcastle if the option ever comes up. “It is a dream move for any player from any country in the world. For any player, Newcastle United is an experience that stays with you for life.”

In Part 2: The day Enrique played in goal at St James’ Park – and life inside the dressing room at Newcastle United.