Ayoze Perez has opened up on his move away from Leicester City in the January transfer window, revealing that a second club was interested in taking him on loan. The Spaniard joined Real Betis until the end of the season after barely featuring for the Foxes this season. Brendan Rodgers handed him just three starts in the Premier League up until his loan move was sanctioned. Speaking to Estadio Deportivo (with quotes via SportWitness) after his debut against Celta Vigo at the weekend, Perez stated that the faith manager Manuel Pellegrini showed in him convinced him it was the right move.
Ayoze Perez said: “One hundred percent, coming to Betis has always been my priority since I had contact with Manuel. At this point in my career it is very important to have that support from the coach and, obviously, also because of all that it means for me sportingly. At this point in my career, such an important move, I needed to feel the coach’s support and desire to have me in his team. For me that was the main thing beyond the details of the contract. He wanted me here and that caught my attention. It was the trigger to come here.”
Perez admitted that making the deal was tense and “complicated”, especially because Villarreal held talks over a potential loan as well. But the winger always had his sights set on the south of Spain.
Ayoze Perez said: “They were hours of great tension, I’m not going to lie. At times it was very complicated, but I insist that it was my priority and, after many hours of tension and uncertainty, we managed to come. I’m not going to hide it. There were contacts with Villarreal, who also showed a lot of interest in signing me, but I always made my people see that my priority was Betis.”
The 29-year-old’s contract with Leicester City expires in the summer and the club is expected to let him go as a free agent four years after he joined from Newcastle United for £30 million. Perez will only think about his next move once the season is over, however.
Ayoze Perez said: “I came until the end of the season, I don’t think about what will happen after. Right now I only focus on being well, on contributing to the team in all possible aspects and, between now and the summer, there will be time to think about all those things.”
