Jonathan Woodgate opens up on the tragic passing of former Newcastle United teammate Gary Speed

Ex-Newcastle United defender Jonathan Woodgate has opened up on the tragic passing of Magpies legend and former teammate Gary Speed.

Speed, who made 285 appearances for Newcastle during his seven season spell, tragically took his own life in November 2011, sending shockwaves throughout the football community.

Woodgate and Speed were teammates at Newcastle between January 2003 and July 2004 but both came through the academy at Leeds United.

Revered by those who knew him best, Speed was beloved on Tyneside. His best seasons at Newcastle came during the years the Magpies were pushing for regular European football as well as challenging at the top end of the Premier League table.

And in a recent interview on the Original Penguin x CALM Under The Surface podcast, Woodgate admitted to being shocked and devastated by the news of his former team mates passing.

"Gary was an incredible person, he’d do anything for you," said Woodgate.

"He’d pick up the phone and ring you out of the blue. I used to keep in contact with him on the phone, and then for that to happen, and it was out of nowhere.

"I was devastated. I think Newcastle were playing that day and I was watching Shay Given and Craig Bellamy both crying, and it was a real sad time.

"He was really close with Shay Given, Alan Shearer and Steve Harper so you might have thought he would have opened up to them, but we’ll never know why he did it, what he was going through – that’s the biggest thing – what was he going through to make him do that. No one ever knew, so tragic."

Alongside the conversation about Speed, Woodgate also opened up about his own mental health struggles. The former England international had his career plagued by injuries which left a lasting mark on the