Thursday 25 September 2014 16:21, UK
Newcastle United midfielder Jonas Gutierrez has thanked everyone for their messages of support.
The Argentina international recently revealed that he is suffering from testicular cancer.
The entire footballing community has been shocked by the news and has come together to support the 31-year-old.
Gutierrez is touched by the messages he has received from his team-mates and fans, and thanked them all for their kind words.
"I am very happy for what the Newcastle fans did, and thankful to the supporters of Velez Sarsfield and Almagro,” he told Todo Noticias.
“I am also thankful to all the people linked to football because I have received very nice messages from them. All this gives me more strength not to give up.
"Many players of the national team gave me a call. Ezequiel Lavezzi and Martin Demichelis knew about my situation since the moment that I underwent surgery. Javier Mascherano, Lionel Messi and Pablo Zabaleta have also given me their support.”
Gutierrez was diagnosed with cancer a number of months ago, but he publicly revealed his condition only recently.
Explaining his decision, Gutierrez said: “Everyone on the streets was asking me why I didn't have hair anymore as I always had long hair.
“That put me in a difficult situation, not because I didn't want to tell but because I didn't want to tell my story to everyone one after the other.
“Since the moment I decided to make it public, I feel much better. I am free and calmer.”
Gutierrez also spoke about his situation with Newcastle.
"I don't want to say if they were good or bad, I can't judge them,” said the former Real Mallorca defender.
“What I can say is that it hurt me very much when they told me to look for another team after that I had the surgery. I had been at the club for five years - that was tough.”
