Heartwarming letter Dan Burn’s dad wrote to Newcastle cup winner goes viral

'An inspiration to every young kid in the North East'

The Magpies beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday with Burn opening his account for the season by rising the highest and guiding his powerful header past Liverpool shot-stopper Caoimhin Kelleher.

Just after half-time Newcastle doubled their advantage through Alexander Isak, just moments after the Swede had seen a goal disallowed for offside.

Federico Chiesa came on to slot the ball cooly past Nick Pope in second half stoppage time but it was too little, too late for the current Premier League leaders.

It was the first time Newcastle supporters have been able to celebrate a major trophy since the team’s Fairs Cup triumph in 1969 and the club’s first piece of domestic silverware since the 1955 FA Cup.

Burn was, of course, part of Eddie Howe’s line-up that suffered a painful 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in the 2023 Carabao Cup final, when a pair of first-half goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford broke Newcastle hearts.

Ahead of that trip to Wembley, The Athletic got family members of Howe's squad to write to their loved ones and the letter David Burn wrote to his son has now resurfaced.

He reflects on the first time they went to Wembley together for the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea back in 2000.

He also reflected on his son's footballing journey from rejection at age 14 from Newcastle's Centre of Excellence, to pushing trolleys at Asda, to his non-league days.

He wrote: "That letter on Christmas Eve, releasing you as a 14-year-old, was gut-wrenching. But it never held you back. You made sure you made it.

"You pushed trollies at Asda and grafted in non-League with Darlington before Everton and Fulham came calling."

In the letter he also wrote how Newcastle was always the club Burn longed to come back to and how success has not changed his son.

"Newcastle brought you home and you bloody deserved that chance. You are still the very same lad; the best father, husband, brother and son we could all wish for.

"Nothing has changed you. You’re still Dan from Blyth, with the same mates who have followed you all the way and everyone can see that.

"Your resilience, your perseverance, should be an inspiration to every young kid in the north east. You are no Peter Beardsley, but you proved that sheer determination and hard work can take you far. As our fellow fans sing, 'You’ll never, ever beat Dan Burn.'"

David Burn's letter moves fans to tears towards the end as he bursts with pride for his son saying: "That will be my lad, my Dan, on the world stage, showing who he is: a great footballer and an even better bloke.

"I wish I could bottle up this feeling I have because it would make me millions if I sold it. I’m so immensely proud of you son."

Speaking about his goal after the game, Dan Burn said: "I knew Alexis [Mac Allister] wasn’t looking at the ball and I’d be able to get a jump on him. I don’t get many so I saved it for a big occasion.

"I feel sometimes I get around bodies and it’s tough to get free. I feel strange, I feel numb at the minute."

The ecstatic 32-year-old told Sky Sports he didn't want to go to sleep in case he was dreaming.