New Arabian Falcons FC manager Jonjo Shelvey says he feels safer in the UAE – because ‘England is full of scumbags’.
After a brief playing stint with the club, he has announced his retirement from professional football and immediately starts a new career on the sidelines.
He spoke on taking up the role of the Emirati third tier side, who have ambitious plans of climbing up the divisions and one day playing in the Asian Champions League.
Meanwhile, former footballer Jason Puncheon has become co-owner and Head of Football Operations at the same club. Ravel Morrison has also been playing for them.
🗣️ “There’s too many scumbags around…”
Former Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey opens up on life in Dubai, his phone call with Eddie Howe and why he’ll never come back to the UK ❌
Read more ➡️: pic.twitter.com/A8o4ySybPk
— The i Paper Sport (@TheiPaperSport) April 16, 2026
Jonjo Shelvey: ‘I’m not in Dubai for money… I don’t want my kids growing up in England’
He said to Mark Douglas of The i Paper: “This isn’t a publicity stunt, it’s not for the cameras.”
On living in UAE, with the country in the conflict in Iran: “I’ve not felt unsafe once.
“People are still going to the beaches, the malls, the restaurants. The first day when there was a bomb we just went out and went to the mall.
“We just got told ‘Everything’s fine’ and it was. I know a lot of people have gone home but I’m just like ‘Why?’ Trust them. The UAE has made us feel so safe.
“The only thing that’s been a bit annoying is the kids are off school for three weeks…”
Regarding his comments last year claiming he’d never move back to London or Essex due to the threat of crime: “I don’t care about the backlash.
“One thing you know about me is I just say how I feel. It’s the truth – people don’t like it, so be it.
“I do feel like the UK isn’t what it was when I was growing up. I felt fine in Newcastle but in terms of living in London or Essex, where I’m from, I’d never, ever go back there.
“Even if my family have a big party and ask me to fly back for it I say ‘No’. You want to see us, you come out here. I don’t want to put anything at risk.
“My wife’s sister was walking in London along the street after work and the phone got robbed. Just kids coming past on a bike. There’s too many scumbags around.
“All it would take would be for me to be in London walking around with the kids, someone to say ‘Give me your watch’ and I’m the type of person to say ‘You’re not having it’.
“I didn’t want to do it anymore and I felt like a nice change. A bit of sun, enjoy the life.”
He says that doesn’t apply to the North East, as he’d go back there “if I got a job offer”.
“But for now, the next 12-18 months, it’s about winning with this team,” he says.
“I owe the people at Arabian Falcons for giving me this opportunity and I want to help them build something and win matches.
“That’s how you get noticed as a manager.”
On getting in contact will Newcastle boss Eddie Howe: “We didn’t have a game so I asked if I could come back to Newcastle and watch his training and shadow him for a day, be a sponge basically.
“When you’re a player you miss the little things but I’d like to go in and be around him, just pick his brain, even down to the little things like looking at what he’s got on his wall.
“He came back to me and said ‘Mate, whenever you want to come back to me, just give me a shout’. That sums him up as a person.”
Shelvey said Howe is “the best, most detailed manager I’ve ever come across”, that the former Toon player “didn’t ever want to leave” Newcastle, and spoke more on the criticism being aimed at Howe.
“I can see it from both sides because it hasn’t gone well this season but the level of expectation is there because of him,” he added. “He deserves a little bit more than what fans are giving him.
“He works a lot on patterns of play and when it comes to a game day they’re just drilled into you and you know that if things aren’t going well you’ve got those patterns to rely on.
“He’s not just this one dimensional, high pressing manager. A lot of his teams do tire out because of how much he demands but that’s just the way he works. I’ve not got a bad word to say about him.”
”They should stick with Eddie (Howe), he’s a top, top manager”
Jonjo Shelvey says Newcastle should keep Eddie Howe and add depth to the squad this summer 🤝 pic.twitter.com/zWGZrTQa6g
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 15, 2026
JONJO SHELVEY’S CAREER:
Youth career
2001–2002 – Arsenal
2002–2004 – West Ham United
2004–2008 – Charlton Athletic
Senior career
2008–2010 – Charlton Athletic – 49 games (8 goals)
2010–2013 – Liverpool – 69 games (7 goals)
2011 → Blackpool (loan) – 10 games (6 goals)
2013–2016 – Swansea City – 96 games (10 goals)
2016–2023 – Newcastle United – 202 games (18 goals)
2023 – Nottingham Forest – 8 games (0 goals)
2023–2024 – Çaykur Rizespor – 33 games (3 goals)
2024–2025 – Eyüpspor – 6 games (0 goals)
2025 – Burnley – 4 games (0 goals)
2025–2026 – Arabian Falcons – 9 games (1 goal)
Total – 486 games (53 goals)
International career
2007–2008 – England U16 – 6 games (3 goals)
2008–2009 – England U17 – 7 games (1 goals)
2009–2010 – England U19 – 4 games (3 goals)
2011–2013 – England U21 – 13 games (4 goals)
2012–2015 – England – 6 games (0 goals)
Managerial career
2026– Arabian Falcons