Newcastle United captain Fabricio Coloccini has revealed that he expressed his gratitude towards Pope Francis during a trip to the Vatican last week.

Coloccini and his Argentina teammates met the pontiff ahead of their international friendly against Italy in Rome.

"I shook hands with him," the Northern Echo quotes Coloccini as saying. "He is always speaking about San Lorenzo, and so for me as a fan, it was amazing.

"There were about 200 people there so we just said 'hello' and 'thank you for everything'."

Coloccini has also reiterated that he is happy at St James' Park, despite previously considering an exit due to personal reasons.