“I used to watch international tournaments on holiday back in Santa Cruz de Tenerife,” Ayoze Perez says.
“I’d call my friends to join me at home and watch the games, just chilling,” he adds with a smile.
This summer, things have been quite different. The heavy rain pouring down in Donaueschingen — Spain’s Euro 2024 base camp in rural south-west Germany — is a far cry from the Canary Island sunshine, but that is of little concern to Perez. That smile is not going anywhere.
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Perez was for many the surprise call-up in Spain’s Euro 2024 squad. At the age of 30, he made his debut for the country in a warm-up friendly on June 5, scoring and assisting in a 5-0 victory over Andorra. Two days later, he was named in the final 26.
He was an unused substitute in Spain’s impressive opening Group B victory (3-0 over Croatia), but against Italy on Thursday night, he got a chance to shine. Replacing player of the match Nico Williams with 12 minutes left, he seriously tested Gianluigi Donnarumma twice towards the end of a 1-0 win that was much more dominant than the scoreline suggests.
Spain are looking good and so is Perez. There is a huge sense of redemption behind his presence at the Euros.
He is a familiar name to fans of English football — he spent five years at Newcastle (2014-2019) and four years at Leicester (2019-2023) after leaving his hometown club Tenerife, where he made his senior bow in 2011. He returned to Spain in January 2023, signing on loan for Real Betis.
“In some stages of my career I felt a bit like a forgotten player,” he tells The Athletic. “I went to England very young (aged 21) and stayed for a long time.
“From a personal side, there was a lot of growth, especially in my character and how I matured. I have played in some very good Premier League sides, having a solid share of minutes, fighting for trophies and showing a good level.
“But despite being Spanish, I had never played in my country’s top flight and that was something I wanted to do. I had a thorn in my side about playing for the national team.”
Last season at Betis brought Perez’s best return since his 2018-19 campaign with Newcastle (13 goals, four assists). He was one of Betis’ top performers as they secured Conference League qualification with a seventh-placed finish, registering 13 goal involvements (11 goals and two assists) after making his loan move permanent.
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“I came back to Spain to find myself again and the trust manager Manuel Pellegrini showed in me changed everything,” he says. “I felt happy playing football again. With this, the rest comes along. I was struggling to find that in my final year at Leicester.
“I would not say I felt like my chances to play for Spain were 100% gone, but it might be the case that you are looked at differently from the national team perspective when you are playing abroad.
“It’s true that if you had told me a year ago that we would be here right now I would have believed nothing. Since the moment I decided to push for a return to Spain and La Liga, this was always a dream I had on the horizon.”
Perez describes his career as “atypical”.
What’s also atypical is that three members of the 2017-2018 Newcastle squad that finished 10th in the Premier League are now part of one of the best sides at this Euros.
“Yes, we shared a dressing room with Mikel Merino and Joselu. I did better because I managed to stay there a bit longer than them,” jokes Perez.
All three have all been recruited to the international cause thanks to Luis de la Fuente, a manager who has made a priority of boosting the squad chemistry of his Spain side, in part achieved through finding profiles of players with an undisputed wish to play for the national team.
“I’ve been in many dressing rooms and I can tell you the level of unity here is not easy to achieve,” Perez says.
“That’s down to the manager. The group feels he is very close to us and all the players understand their roles. We know that at some point we will have minutes, chances to play and a way to help. De la Fuente has helped this squad to feel everyone’s win is Spain’s win.
“This squad is full of outstanding players. I can tell you, the bar in training sessions is mind-blowing, so high. But there are no big egos. That’s our key here, the best way to achieve success.”
Perez has mostly played on the left wing for Betis. With fellow wingers Lamine Yamal, 16, and Nico Williams, 21, emerging as the new key stars of Spain’s national team (on the right and left wing respectively), those behind them certainly need to understand their backup roles. Perez is clearly a huge fan of both.
“You see Nico, a player of that age, that talent and ability to make the difference on a regular basis… it’s frightening. With the sums that are being paid nowadays, I think he is even cheap (he has a €55million release clause).
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“Let’s see what happens with him this summer, but now I am so pleased to see Nico shining like he is. With Lamine, the nerve, the ability, the personality, at this age, it’s simply out of this world. We take for granted the fact he’s doing what he’s doing as a teenager. It should not be seen as normal.”
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And what about his own future?
“I owe Betis a lot, feel very happy there and have a contract for the next three seasons, so there’s not much more to look at,” he says. “I’m focused with the national team now, although I know this is always a platform where you’re more seen.”
Perez took a significant pay cut from his wages at Leicester to join Betis on a free transfer. In exchange, a fairly low release clause was inserted into his contract. On paper, it’s set at €10million (£8.4m; $10.7m at current rates), but there’s a compromise that means Real Betis have to listen to any offer over €4m — and if they want to keep the player, a salary improvement needs to be sorted. According to local reports in Seville, the clause is reduced to €3m if a Saudi Pro League club makes an offer.
“How do I feel about players going to Saudi Arabia? In my opinion, this is a case of everyone making their own choices in this situation. The salary figures reported are massive, but anyone would have to balance what’s best for you, for your career or your family, and then make a decision.
“I don’t think I can come up with an opinion now other than this.”
A muscular problem means Perez is likely to be ruled out of Spain’s next match, against Albania in Berlin on Monday, but with De la Fuente’s group already through to the knockout stage as Group B winners, the forward will be hoping for another big stage to show what he can do. He might have to wait, but he will be ready.
(Top photo: Matt McNulty – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)