Tonali sat down with Sky Sports to discuss his return to action after serving his betting ban last season.
The Italy midfielder began: “Before the mistake I had two lives, because I was very closed in on myself and I never spoke to people, even on the training pitch, even with the staff.
“Now it's totally different. Every day is different, especially with the staff and my teammates, because it's normal to talk every day, it's normal to have a relationship. When I come to the training pitch, now I'm the same person; with the sports director, with the staff, with my teammates.”
And again: “Before these 10 months, before the last year, I don't know, but it's a little different because I was another person. I was two different people in my life and in football. And now I'm one person, just one. When I talk to the coach, I'm Sandro. When I play, I'm Sandro. When I return to Italy, I'm Sandro. I understood this in the last year and in these 10 months."
On his first days back: “I missed the last 10 months. I missed football, I missed the stadium, all the emotions on the pitch. But now I'm back and I'm back, I think, very well. I spoke with the team - explained Tonali - and with the sporting director. The general director was happy. I understood my mistake.”
On his return to St James' Park: “The feeling (of returning to celebrate with the fans, ed.) was very, very nice, because the fans had gone crazy after the first game (against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup)."
Finally, there are those who have never abandoned him. Not even in the darkest moment: “After the second game, the same goes for Bruno (Guimaraes) and Joelinton, because they supported me every day during the ban. With (Kieran) Trippier and the captain Jamaal (Lascelles), these four, for me, were perhaps the best players to support me. But all the players and the whole team... it was a surprise for me, because I was a new player. I had only been here for two months. But every person in the city, from those who work in Newcastle, to all the people who live here, support me and help me."