Playing a hell of a lot more for Sevilla than he would have done under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, it’s fair to say that Nolito’s decision to leave the Etihad last summer was the right one to make.
Making 37 appearances for the La Liga side, the 31-year-old has scored five goals and helped his teammates out with seven assists this season, even if a chunk of his 1830 minutes have come from the bench.
Inviting Sport into his home, Nolito sat down with the Catalan newspaper to discuss his career to date, which included a brief mention of his time at Manchester City and the decision that led to choosing Pep Guardiola over a move to Barcelona.
He said: “I was on the verge of going, but, in the end, I went to City. It’s true that Barcelona had been interested for a few years, but, for one reason or another, the clubs… nothing. Before going there, it’s true it was between Barca and City, and we all decided, between my family, myself and my agent, that Manchester City was best”.
Explaining that he felt he’d get more time at the Etihad than at Nou Camp, where he would have had to compete with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar for a starting spot, it all started so well for him.
Featuring quite prominently during the first half of the season, the forward looked like he was enjoying himself, scoring a few goals here and there, but then everything changed, and the Manchester City bench became his unfortunate best friend.
Playing just 39 minutes of league football between January and May, Nolito knew his (brief) time in England had to come to an end, when the move to Sevilla was quickly sorted out for him.
At least he can now say he gave it a shot.
