Ayoze Perez spent five years with Newcastle United before completing a big-money move to Leicester City.
The Spanish forward joined Newcastle United in 2014 from Tenerife for just £1.7m and ended up making 195 appearances for the Magpies across all competitions.
Ayoze Perez scored 48 goals and registered 17 assists during his time on Tyneside, which was mostly spent playing under Rafa Benitez.
He stuck with Newcastle after their relegation to the Championship and scored 12 goals on the route to promotion in 2016/17.
Perez ended up leaving in a £30m move to Leicester City in 2019 and was booed by St James’ Park on his return as an opposition player.
Ayoze Perez reflects on Newcastle United spell
Now 31 years old, Perez has been in superb form at Villarreal after joining the La Liga club this summer.
He has scored six goals in seven games for Villarreal and has maintained his spot in the Spanish national team after their Euro 2024 triumph.
Perez sat down to talk with El Periodico Mediterraneo about his career, and especially about his five-year spell at Newcastle.
After being hailed as a club “icon”, Perez said (as quoted by Sport Witness): “I’m turning red! I spent five wonderful years at Newcastle, at least four of them, three and a half of which were with Rafa Benitez, with whom we promoted to the Premier League, and I learned a lot from him,”
“I started as a 9 at Newcastle, but very soon they moved me to the winger position, and it is true that I performed well, and I was very satisfied with my performance in such an important club.
“Playing in England and in the Premier League is a unique experience for a footballer.”
Ayoze Perez shares ‘truth’ behind £30m exit
Perez was prolific in his final year at Newcastle, scoring 13 goals with four assists in 2018/19 as the Magpies finished 13th in the Premier League table.
He ended up providing a huge profit for Newcastle, but the grass was not greener for Perez at Leicester, who only scored 15 goals in 114 appearances for the Foxes.
Perez helped Leicester to lift the FA Cup in 2021, but overall his time at the club was disappointing and Perez became a free agent in 2023 before signing for Betis.
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In the same interview, Perez opened up on his Newcastle exit: “The truth is that after five years at Newcastle I needed a change, both athletically and mentally.
“I signed for Leicester in 2019, years after they won the Premier League.
“Brendan Rodgers bet on me and they were very nice years in which we won two titles, the FA Cup and the Community Shield, and we returned to Europe.”
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