Rayo Vallecano defender Florian Lejeune has detailed how he turned down Manchester City earlier in his career, preferring Eibar to being a part of the multi-club network.
El Pais have an interview with the 33-year-old today in which he explains how he turned down Guardiola and co to forge his own path elsewhere.
Lejeune currently plays for Rayo Vallecano in Spain after a career that’s seen him start in France before spells with Villarreal, Girona, Manchester City, Eibar, Newcastle and Alavés.
He found himself a part of the Manchester City multi-group from 2014 after they acquired Girona, eventually moving from the Spanish club to the Etihad in a €300,000 deal in 2015.
He was loaned back to Girona a day after that deal was concluded and enjoyed himself with the club, seemingly setting up a move to the Etihad to bolster their options from within.
That never happened, though, as the defender instead preferred to head to SD Eibar in a €1.5m deal, impressing there before eventually ending up in the Premier League anyway with Newcastle, who paid €10m to secure his signature.
He’s now reflected on the situation and doesn’t seem to regret telling Manchester City, and particularly Txiki Begiristain, that he saw his future elsewhere.
“That story is very good. I was at Girona, in the Second Division, after the first year. It was summer, on holiday, and Quique Cárcel [Girona’s sporting director] called me,” he said.
“I don’t know how many missed calls… I don’t know what’s going on, he doesn’t usually call me… And he says: ‘Flo, why don’t you pick up my phone? I’m calling you, it’s very important.’
“And I say: ‘What’s going on? Is there a problem?’ And he says: ‘It’s that City is going to buy a part of Girona, and they want to sign you.’ And I say: ‘Quique, I’m on holiday, leave me alone, this smells fishy.’
They told me that Guardiola was going to go to Eibar the following year and that I was going to be there, that he likes my profile as a player. I spoke to his brother, Pere, and to the second-team players.”
“I called Txiki [Begiristain] and said to him: ‘Sorry, but I want to go to Eibar, I want to play in the First Division.’ And he said to me: ‘Are you sure? You might be wrong. You have to go little by little.’ And I said to him: ‘If I’m good, then you’ll buy me again.’ And Newcastle signed me.”
