Striker Ayoze Pérez has admitted he was “psychologically” ready to leave Leicester City in January, hence his move to Real Betis.
The Spanish forward has been speaking to La Media Inglesa after making the move to Betis at the end of the January transfer window.
He is on loan at the Spanish club from Leicester, who sanctioned a temporary exit despite his contract ending in the summer.
They were happy for the player to bring his four year association with the club to an end in any form, with Pérez having fallen out of favour under Brendan Rodgers and making it clear he would not be signing a new deal at the club.
Indeed, he had also spoken publicly about his desire to return to Spain for several months and was finally granted that when Betis brought him in on a short-term deal.
He’s proven to be a big hit at the club under Manuel Pellegrini’s leadership since and admits he is delighted with how things have gone, having been psychologically finished at Leicester.
“It was a delicate moment in my career, I wasn’t getting many minutes at Leicester and he (Pellegrini) gave me a lot of confidence,” ABC Sevilla report him saying.
“I had contact in which he told me that he wanted me in his team and that was very important for me. That’s where my decision came from.
“We all know what a great coach he is and his great career, in that sense it made it easier for me to make my decision to come to Betis. It’s important to have the confidence of a great coach like Manuel.
“The decision was based a lot on that confidence and that desire of the coach to have you in your team. He is the one who handles many important decisions, and to have that desire of the coach to have you in his team is very important and priceless.
“Very happy, of course I am. Very happy, very comfortable here, very well adapted and enjoying the club, the fans and Spanish football.
“I was really looking forward to returning to Spain. Psychologically it was very clear to me that it was the right time and hence my decision to return.”
