Newcastle’s Ayoze Pérez claims he shunned Barcelona and Real Madrid

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/oct/27/ayoze-perez-newcastle-barcelona-real-madrid

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The Spanish striker Ayoze Pérez, who headed Newcastle’s winning goal against Tottenham on Sunday, has claimed that Barcelona and Real Madrid were chasing his signature before he decided his future lay on Tyneside during the summer.

The 21-year-old had made his previous nine appearances for the Magpies as a substitute but, handed his first start at White Hart Lane, Pérez sealed Newcastle’s first Premier League away win since March.

Pérez scored 16 goals in 34 appearances in Spain’s second tier last season before his £1.5m move from Tenerife to Newcastle in the summer, and has made two appearances for the Spain under-21 side. And after endearing himself to the Magpies faithful Pérez has revealed that he might have found himself playing in Saturday’s clásico had Newcastle not been so convincing with their approach.

“Yes, there was interest from those clubs [Barcelona and Real Madrid],” said Pérez. “The truth is that the Newcastle bid was quite surprising because firstly there were other teams interested.

“But they pushed very hard to get me. I feel they really valued me. We had to consider the different options and I finally decided to come to Newcastle.

“I have always loved the Premier League but the main reason to come here was how Newcastle valued myself. I felt very appreciated by the club and that was the reason which made me opt to come here.”