Gustavo Puerta has admitted the drama around his move to Hull City this summer ended up affecting him mentally.
Flashscore have an interview with the midfielder today in which he details the nightmare he went through this summer.
Puerta joined Hull City on loan from Leverkusen last season, spending the season with the Tigers. He was a regular too, making 31 appearances totalling 2017 minutes last year.
Hull were keen to keep him on a permanent basis. That appeared set to happen too, with them announcing the deal earlier in the summer. Disaster then struck as Hull City were given a three-window transfer ban following late payments to other clubs.
This was later reduced to two windows on appeal but, unfortunately, meant Puerta was left in limbo while it was dealt with across the summer. The final decision didn’t come until August 19th, leaving Puerta with a late scramble to sort his future.
“I was going to be a Hull City player”
He initially returned to Bayer Leverkusen before then completing a €3.5m move to Racing in Spain on deadline day. He’s happy with that, after a summer of drama and stress that he admits left him with mental scars.
“Well, this transfer window was a bit difficult, a bit crazy for me, a bit complicated,” he said.
“I was initially going to be a Hull City player because the clause had been met, and I was ready; they officially announced the purchase and everything. When preseason arrived, I realised that the club had been sanctioned, that they couldn’t buy players for two or three windows.
“The truth is, it was almost a month and a half of uncertainty, of being in limbo, of not knowing anything. That ended up affecting me psychologically. Sometimes I had trouble sleeping and started thinking I don’t know where I’m going, if I’m going to stay here, if I have to leave.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t wish those things on any player. These are times when you have no control over situations and you’re depending on others.
“The club was supposed to be hurt, but in the end, it ended up hurting myself. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Throughout the preseason, I could only train; I couldn’t play matches and couldn’t appear in team photos.
“But anyway, right now I thank God because if that happened, it was for a reason. Today I’m where I should be, and I’m very happy.”
