Rodrigo Moreno signed for Leeds United in the summer 2020 transfer window, in a move which surprised many… especially in Spain.
The then Valencia player had spent previous windows linked repeatedly with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, so moving to a newly promoted Premier League team didn’t seem the most obvious option for him.
It all put his international future in some question, with the next step, to shine on the European stage, replaced with what many expected to be a relegation battle.
Things haven’t worked out that way for Leeds, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side currently eleventh, and a pretty comfortable nine points away from the relegation zone.
Rodrigo has been speaking to Spanish newspaper AS, and his decision to sign for Leeds United was obviously one of the first questions.
What asked what convinced him to join the Yorkshire club, the 30-year-old stated: “I had three summers in which it seemed like I was leaving Valencia, and then I stayed. The time had come to close this stage, which I describe as very positive. In this context, Leeds, the Premier League and the challenge of working with Bielsa appeared.”
AS pressed further and insisted it was still surprising a Spain international signed for a newly promoted club, to which Rodrigo replied: “The Premier League is very attractive due to its sporting and economic potential. Leeds is historic and faces a new cycle. By structure and infrastructure it is at the level of Benfica or Valencia.”
Rodrigo further stressed that he was convinced by the project Leeds United presented to him.