With a contract running out at Liverpool in the summer of 2020, Pedro Chirivella decided it was time to get some regular football, which Nantes in Ligue 1 were ready to give him.
He moved to the Atlantic coast town on a free transfer, and while his beginnings weren’t all that exciting, he has slowly but surely assured himself a spot in the first-team, now under Antoine Kombouaré.
The defensive midfielder has 12 Ligue 1 appearances to his name, with two goals and an assist to boot, and the former Spain U17 international is enjoying himself without the added pressure of wearing the Liverpool shirt.
The player sat down with So Foot in France to talk about his career to date, and during said interview, the subject of his Anfield exit was brought up.
Explaining that while Liverpool ‘were offering to extend the contract’, Chirivella’s last two years with the Premier League club had been ‘complicated on a sporting level’.
That’s why he sought a permanent exit: “I wanted change. When Nantes came, Christian Gourcuff spoke to me. He trusted me a lot. When I spoke of the possibility to Klopp, he told me to go for it, that Ligue 1 had a strong future potential. Those words stuck in my head. I made that choice, and today, I absolutely do not regret it”.
Still only 24 years of age, Chirivella has almost his whole career ahead of him, and with one year left on his deal at Nantes once the season ends, he might have another choice to make if someone comes knocking: trying to use Nantes as a platform, or simply stay put and continue to grow at a club who clearly appreciate what he brings to the pitch.
