At the moment plying his commerce for Villarreal, Ayoze Perez was once a distinguished title within the Premier League.
The Spaniard, in spite of everything, had made as many as 223 Premier League appearances for his former golf equipment, Leicester Metropolis and Newcastle United, even scoring 45 objectives and mustering 17 assists within the course of.
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Nonetheless, Ayoze’s profession trajectory might have turned out very otherwise, as he was near becoming a member of the Barcelona academy at a younger age.
Ayoze reveals he was near becoming a member of Barcelona
In a current interview with La otra grada, Ayoze admitted he was approached by each Barcelona and Actual Madrid academies when he was nonetheless at Tenerife.
“I had affords from Actual Madrid Castilla and Barça B, however I additionally had different affords, regardless of being tempting,” he mentioned (h/t ).
Ayoze is speaking about 2014, when he was about to depart Tenerife CF after having made a strong impression on the Spanish membership.
Ayoze Perez has over 200 appearances within the Premier League. (Photograph by Mateo Villalba Sanchez/Getty Pictures)
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However after being courted by a number of golf equipment throughout Europe, Ayoze revealed that it was Newcastle United’s promise of first-team motion that satisfied him to maneuver to Tyneside.
“I negotiated with Borussia Mönchengladbach, with Porto, which was virtually a completed deal—I don’t perceive the way it fell by way of—and in the long run, Newcastle referred to as, who had been the final to name.
“They informed me I might be within the first staff, that I might be essential, and I had a dream of taking part in within the Premier League, and in the long run, that’s the way it occurred,” he revealed.
Ayoze joined Newcastle United for simply €2 million in 2014, ending up making virtually 200 aggressive appearances for the membership earlier than leaving in 2019, in favour of a €30 million transfer to Leicester Metropolis.
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Ayoze returned to Spain in 2023, as a part of a mortgage deal to Actual Betis, with the participant finally becoming a member of Los Beticos free of charge in the summertime of 2023.
Ayoze’s transfer to Villarreal, his present membership, got here in 2024, with the Yellow Submarines paying simply €4 million for his providers.