From Tenerife to Tyneside, how Ayoze Perez finally found a home at Newcastle

Exclusive: Perez was unsure what he would find when he moved back in 2014 but three years on he couldn't be happier

Ayoze Perez couldn't be happier after his three years on Tyneside (Getty)

Ayoze Perez hit the red button in the middle of his iPhone and started recording. He moved to his right to take in the historic ruins of a priory, basking in a glorious sunny day and then pointed down to a packed beach, where people were playing in the sea at King Edward’s Bay.

“It’s always nice to know new places in this country!” he wrote on his Twitter account.

Perez was unsure what he would find when he moved from Tenerife to Tyneside, in 2014, but he never thought it would be this. Later, he smiled for photographs on Tynemouth Front Street; a quiet young man with slick backed hair who left his home along with brother Samuel when Newcastle came calling, aged just 21.

Three years on, and in a massive marquee on the city’s Town Moor, Perez has been called to the stage by the evening’s host, Gabby Logan. It is a joint celebration, the 125th birthday of the football club and the annual Newcastle United Foundation meal.

The foundation’s work is endless; going into the city to help those who need it; aiding disabled and disadvantaged kids. During the course of a glitzy night, Ally Ali will steal the show when he is handed the foundation’s Young Leader Award.

Ali, from Somalia, could speak no English when he arrived in Newcastle five years ago. He spotted a game of football being staged by the Newcastle United Foundation outside his window and went and joined in. He went onto became a Kicks programme coach. His Geordie is as broad as anyone in that tent.

He receives his award from the foundation’s ambassador, Perez. “You see here how much football is changing people’s lives,” Perez says. “I got involved with the foundation last season. It means everything.”

Perez himself is still just 24. He cost the club just £2 million when he moved from La Liga. It is peanuts in the modern game. He moved into a flat with his brother Samuel when it was his turn to step into the unknown. Now it is home.

“It wasn’t easy for us at first, but the Geordies have helped us to adapt to the city, the language, the people, the culture,” says Perez when we talk. “I didn't have any idea about the place, where it was situated in England, anything at all. It was a surprise to see, just how nice it was!

“Yeah, I moved over with my brother when I first came here. As soon as I signed he took the decision to come over with me, nah, I never asked him, he just came! We have been together all the way, it has been great support for me, that has been very important and I’m happy to have him here.”

Samuel signed for Blyth Spartans in the Northern League and remains a non-league player. Perez’s star shone quickly, but in his second season the club were relegated and the distance between the club and its support was huge.

“The players are closer to the fans than we were a couple of years ago,” he adds. “The club is close to the fans at the minute. We are doing much better in that situation.

“We are growing up as a team and as a club. Great things are going to come in the future. The relationship with the support is key. For me, we have to be like one, that relationship must be a great one. We are always trying to be close to them, give them what they want.

“We have had a couple of bad years, but things are getting better and better. How important has Rafa been? He has been massive, he has been key. Part of this is because of him. With him we are getting better, the club is moving towards where to has to be and it is also growing up under Rafa a lot. Thank God we have got him.

“The truth is we are doing things right, we are going up as a club. The foundation is a doing a great job. I can’t describe what that feeling is like, when you put on the black and white shirt and you score a goal. It is amazing because I have learned what the club means to the people.”

His role as an ambassador has seen him coach the under-9s development squad, turn up at schools to teach children, attend dinners and become a face of the foundation.

“Yeah, football can change a person’s life, it changes a lot of people’s lives,” he says. “You can see the kids we work with. You can you make their day just by them meeting you, that’s lovely, that’s great.

“It has to feel like that. It has been three great years; good moments, bad moments, like football is. I’m really proud of the decision I made. Newcastle is home.”