I needed ‘a change’ from ‘wonderful’ Newcastle United - that’s why I joined Leicester City

Perez helped Spain lift the Henri Delauney trophy this summer before moving from Real Betis to Villareal upon his return from the competition. The 31-year-old moved back to Spain on a permanent basis last summer having ran down his contract with Leicester City.

During his time at the King Power Stadium, Perez managed just 15 goals in 114 appearances, a disappointing return following a £30m move from St James’ Park in the summer of 2019. Perez’s sale marked a tumultuous summer on Tyneside that year with the departure of Rafa Benitez leaving the club managerless and without one of their key players as pre-season got underway.

Speaking recently to El Periodico Mediterraneo about his decision to join Leicester City at that time, Perez has revealed he ‘needed a change’ following five years at St James’ Park: “The truth is that after five years at Newcastle I needed a change, both athletically and mentally. And I signed for Leicester in 2019, years after they won the Premier League.” Perez said.

“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, returning Leicester to the highest level of football.”

Whilst Newcastle United were compensated well for Perez’s departure, Perez’s departure to a Premier League rival did cause a stir of discontent in the fanbase. The Spaniard had joined the club from Tenerife as a 20-year-old and was immediately thrown into the first-team under Alan Pardew with injury issues forcing him to play Perez before he’d had too much time to adapt to English football.

However, Perez hit the ground running and became a key player for the Magpies, particularly under Benitez’s stewardship. On his time at Newcastle United, Perez said: “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.”