Ferran Torres: New Man City signing on fractured relationship with Valencia captain Dani Parejo

New Manchester City signing Ferran Torres has spoken about the factors that led him to leave Valencia – one of them being his poor relationship with the La Liga side’s captain Dani Parejo.

Twenty-year-old winger Torres joined Pep Guardiola’s team on Tuesday for a fee of approximately £25 million, but his arrival in Manchester was as much to do with his discontent in Spain as it was to do with his desire to be a part of the Premier League club.

Speaking to Spanish publication Marca about what conditions needed to be met for him to stay at Valencia, Torres said: “One is that [club owner] Peter Lim was involved in my renewal, to show me that I was important to the club.

“Another was to be a captain, which was my dream, because I had seen how other clubs had done that with the youth of the club, such as [Mikel] Oyarzabal or Fernando Torres, to retain them.

“And the third was to be among the highest-paid players on the squad. I know that Valencia is not in a position to pay the same as the big European clubs, but I was able to lead the project and I wanted to be treated as such, that the club made an effort to keep me.

“They just didn’t want to, period.”

Furthermore, Torres said he endured a fractious relationship with Valencia’s captain Parejo.

“Parejo is a great player, but personally I have never had a relationship with him,” the Spaniard said.

“When I joined the first team, when I was 17 years old, many weeks passed before he said a simple ‘Good morning’ to me.

“I don’t think he was a good captain with me. The worst came with the departure of [coach] Marcelino. [Lee] Kang-in and I were used as culprits in the locker room.”

Torres was more positive when speaking about his future, however, telling Man City’s official club website: “I am so happy to be joining City.

“Every player wants to be involved in attacking teams and Manchester City are one of the most attacking in world football.

“Pep encourages a really open, aggressive style, which I love, and he is a manager with a proven track record of improving players. To have him overseeing my development is a dream.

“City have won plenty of trophies in the last 10 years and I hope I can play a role in continuing that success.”

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