Sam Allardyce: "He's a proven winner who has been successful at the highest level in England and Spain.
"He can speak several languages and will be a great communicator on and off the pitch. I hope that he has a long and illustrious career wearing the armband at Newcastle United."
Geremi: "Being made Newcastle's captain is one of the greatest honours in my career.
"It's a great honour to captain such a big club. The manager took me to one side and asked whether I would like to take it on and I'm delighted to do so.
"I was surprised when he asked me because I didn't realise he had been assessing people for the job but I was pleased about it and had no hesitation in accepting.
"He must see something in me - perhaps it is the experience I have from playing in the Premier League for so long - but I need to to prove that I can do the job for him and be responsible on and off the pitch. I've captained the national team so it won't be a problem.
"I won't change the manner in which I do things. I'll still be the same person.
"This club needs to achieve something, it has gone too long without trophies.
"When I came to the club I could see the supporters were crying out for success. The new board is in place now and they also want to achieve something.
"If I were to say that we're going to win the title, people would laugh at me. But there are lots of games and lots of trophies to be won.
"We will take it step by step, but of course it would be great to lift a trophy as Newcastle captain. The board wants that, the manager wants that and so do the players. The supporters deserve something.
"We know they've waited more than 50 years for an English trophy and we want to put that right. That would be a dream.
"The most important thing was to start the season well, which we have done. The manager decided to give me the honour of the captaincy and to start with a win was great."