MADRID, 19 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The defender and captain of Valencia, José Luis Gayà, was “very happy” after announcing his renewal until 2027, an agreement about which he confessed to having “doubts” last May due to statements by the then president Anil Murthy, but now confirms his “ambition” to get the club “back where it deserves”.
“I am very happy, very excited and very grateful. I am very excited to continue fulfilling dreams in what is my home”, Gayà celebrated at a press conference after the agreement to continue in a team with which he has “the dream” was made official. of being able to win another title after winning the Copa del Rey in 2019. “I’m sure I’ll have another chance and that we won’t fail,” he added after losing last season’s Cup final on penalties against Betis.
The international made it clear that “from the first moment” his wish was “always” to continue at Valencia, despite the fact that he received “offers” to leave in recent years. “For me, the fact of being able to leave or earn more money is not the most important thing in my life at the moment. I am happy here, I believe in the project and in the last three years I have played two finals,” he remarked.
“My ambition is to make Valencia return to where it deserves to be. In my head, the fact of continuing to grow here has always been on my mind because I have a lot of room for improvement and I want to do it here,” continued the defender, who “never” has been “obsessed with “to be able to outnumber other legends such as Pepe Claramunt, Ricardo Arias or Fernando Gómez, although I “hopefully” succeed.
Gayà recognized that from the beginning of the negotiation there was “good intention” on both sides. “I wanted to stay and they were going to bet on me. It’s been a long process, but we knew we had to understand each other and it’s been easier that way,” he said.
However, he did not hide that he had “doubts in May”, as a result of the words of Anil Murthy, then president of the club, who in some audios dropped that he was going to sign little and that would create doubts about continuing. “But everything changed. The president is not here and with Layhoon (Chan) things have changed. I didn’t like hearing that at all, but now everything has been much better organized,” he clarified.
“The coach has also been very important in this. I think that a very good Valencia is being built, that is not afraid of any rival and that is daring. For now, we have started well, but we still have room for improvement because we may lack continuity”, underlined the left back about the new project with Gennaro Gattuso, who turned to him “from the first moment”.
Gayà sees his renewal as “a message for everyone”. “There is no bigger club for me. I will never forget the support we had in the Cup final, it is a big club and we will surely fight again for great things, it is the message I want to give”, he warned, remarking who, despite these last three years “have not been the best”, has been “lucky” to play a round of 16 in the Champions League and two cup finals. “You have to give it continuity,” he demanded.
The youth squad player also stressed that “it is not easy” to get to where he has come, who came to the club at the age of 11. “Since the fry I have seen many colleagues who have fallen by the wayside, which is the most common. I would tell the little ones to enjoy themselves and forget about being footballers now,” he said.
Finally, he admitted that he doesn’t like “thinking about the future because you can’t control it.” “I like to look at the present and to have a great season. The dream for 2027 would be to return to the top positions and fight for important things, that’s why I have renewed,” she said.