Pablo Barrera regrets his decision to leave West Ham United for Cruz Azul in 2012.
The 38-year-old has been with Mexican side Querétaro since 2021. He recently confirmed their clash against Mazatlán FC last weekend was his last for the club. On Tuesday, the winger said he’s yet to make a decision on his next step.
Barrera has given an interview to TUDN to review his long career, mainly focusing on West Ham.
The Mexican joined West Ham from UNAM Pumas in July 2010. He played over 1,300 minutes from 21 matches in his debut season. Due to limited playing time, the Hammers sent him on loan to Real Zaragoza in August 2011.
A year later, Barrera left the London club to join Cruz Azul permanently. Since then, he hasn’t returned to Europe. He’s still gutted about his decision to leave West Ham, especially since they had wanted him to stay.
“The only thing I could have changed is pushing harder for my time in Europe. I had three more years on my contract [with West Ham]; that’s the only regret I have, not pushing for those three years,” he said.
“Then I went to Spain for a year with Vasco [Aguirre], but I still had three more years on my contract with West Ham. They told me I could return without any problem, obviously to earn a place, but I made the decision to go to Cruz Azul. That’s the only regret I could have changed.”
Barrera is honest in admitting that finances were the motivation behind his decision to leave West Ham for Cruz Azul.
“The truth is, at that moment it was about money. In the end, I made several offers to Cruz Azul, thinking they wouldn’t accept them, and in the end they said yes. It was mainly for that reason,” Barrera explained.
“That’s the only thing that stuck with me. To this day, my dad talks about it with me. He used to tell me, ‘Stay, stay [in Europe]’.”
West Ham’s Edson Álvarez is currently on loan at Fenerbahçe. Barrera has urged him and Genoa’s Johan Vásquez to prolong their careers in Europe.
