Newcastle United boss Kevin Keegan has made his first signing of the summer with the acquisition of Argentina international Jonas Gutierrez.



The right-side forward arrives at St James' Park on a five-year deal after Newcastle concurred on an undisclosed fee with Real Mallorca.


Nicknamed 'Spiderman' for his elaborate goal celebrations, Gutierrez had previously been linked with a move to Portsmouth.


Keegan is confident Gutierrez, who turns 25 on Saturday, will quickly establish himself as a favourite in the North East.


"Jonas is a wonderful signing for us," he told the club's official website.


"I know a lot of other clubs have been interested in him. He'll be a terrific addition to the squad.


"He's an exciting player and I'm sure our fans will enjoy watching him."

Looks like a good signing for Newcastle,looks like Milner is gonna go.....hopefully not to Liverpool

10 Things you need to know about Newcastle signing Jonas Gutierrez
By Dan Silver 2/07/2008


This morning Newcastle announced the signing of Real Mallorca’s Argentinean international Jonas Gutierrez for an undisclosed fee on a five-year deal.

Here’s everything you need to know about the player they call ‘Spiderman’…

1) He was born in Roque Sáenz Peña in Buenos Aires Province on July 5, 1983 and is commonly known by his first name Jonas

2) A natural winger, he joined local side Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield as an 18 year-old, where he made 97 appearances and scored just the one goal.

3) Jonas helped the side to the Primera Division league title in 2005, and then promptly upped sticks and joined Spanish side Real Mallorca.

4) In his three seasons in Spain, Guiterrez notched up a further 96 appearances and chipped in a further five goals.

5) The most famous of which came in a home match against Osasuna. Guiterrez celebrated by pulling on a Spiderman mask and pretending to shoot web from his wrists, in tribute to his boy-hood hero. Not sure how that would go down on the Bigg Market,


6) That said, interested Newcastle fans can buy a Spiderman mask and web blaster from Amazon for a very reasonable £22.96 here.

7) Jonas has made two appearances for the Argentinean national side to date. The first came against France in February 2007, and the second last month in the World Cup qualifier 0-0 drawn against Brazil.

8) You can see highlights of that last game below. Although, frankly, if you’re pushed for time, feel free to skip it.


9) Before joining the Magpies, Jonas was a target for both Manchester City and Portsmouth. Harry Redknapp was rumoured to be considering a £10m bid for the player last January.

10) Jonas said of his move to Newcastle: "I cannot tell you how excited I am to be joining Newcastle United. The Premier League is a great place to play and I cannot wait to meet my new team-mates and prove myself to the Newcastle United fans.”

Let’s hope they have Spiderman masks at the ready…

i know nothing about him but lets hope he is the first of many

On July 1st 2008, Jonás Gutiérrez unilaterally rescinded his contract with the Spanish side, after calling FIFA's Article 17, most commonly know as "Webster Law". As a result, the club is know demanding a 15 million euros compensation.

From Fifa or Newcastle?

From The TimesJuly 3, 2008

Newcastle face bill for Jonás Gutiérrez
Jason Mellor and Gary Jacob
Kevin Keegan has made Jonás Gutiérrez, the Argentina player, the first significant signing of his second spell in charge at Newcastle United. It has not taken long for the winger who is also known as “Spiderman”, to spin a web of intrigue after it emerged that he is the subject of an £11.9 million compensation claim from his former club.

Gutiérrez, who earned the unusual moniker for his novel goal celebration as he dons a mask in honour of the comic-book superhero, in addition to firing imaginary webs from his wrists, has agreed a five-year contract worth about £35,000 a week to join from Mallorca. The Spanish club want compensation after claiming that Gutiérrez walked out to join Newcastle with two years of his contract remaining. Fifa, football's world governing body, has been called in to settle the situation, with the player insisting that rules allow players under the age of 28 who have been at a club for at least three seasons to buy out the remainder of their contract.

The impasse is not a threat to the 24-year-old's transfer, but the size of the fee Newcastle eventually end up paying - thought to be up to £7million - will be affected by Fifa's ruling because Newcastle are likely to share the cost with the player. “Jonás is a wonderful signing,” Keegan said. “He will be a terrific addition. I'm sure our fans will enjoy watching him.”

Gutiérrez, who made his international debut in February, will link up with his new team-mates within the next ten days. Newell's Old Boys, his first club, will receive about 50 per cent of the eventual fee. Gutiérrez will have an early opportunity to face his former club in what could be a frosty return to the Balearics when Newcastle play Mallorca in a pre-season tournament on August 3. Supporters will hope to see the Spiderman mask more regularly than their counterparts in Mallorca, Gutiérrez having failed to score last season and mustering a modest five goals in 96 La Liga appearances.