Ayoze Perez: 'I turned down Barcelona, Real Madrid'

Ayoze Perez has claimed that he turned down both Barcelona and Real Madrid to join Newcastle United this summer.

The 21-year-old scored 16 times in the Segunda Division for Tenerife last term, which brought a host of interest.

Eventually Perez decided to join Newcastle and he scored on his full Magpies debut against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

"Yes, there was interest from Barca and Real Madrid," The Guardian quotes Perez as saying.

"It's true that the Newcastle bid was quite surprising because firstly there were other teams interested, but they pushed very hard to get me.

"We had to consider the different options and I finally decided to come to Newcastle. I've always loved the Premier League but the main reason I came here was how the club valued me."

Perez arrived at Newcastle for a figure believed to be in the region of £1.5m.