Ricardo Pereira considered leaving Leicester City last summer but stayed to help their fight back to the Premier League and where they “deserve” to be.
The Portuguese international was a key player as City claimed the Championship title, taking on a hybrid role in Enzo Maresca’s set-up and playing more minutes than he managed in the past three seasons combined. But he has admitted he nearly departed.
Offers were on the table for Ricardo, but the desire to play his part in City’s return to the top flight, plus the impact of Maresca, convinced him to stay put. Now he’s looking forward to the battle for survival.
The right-back told Marca in Spain: “There is no single explanation (for City’s relegation). It was many things combined. We started badly in the league, confidence plummeted, and it is not easy to change that dynamic. We managed to come back, but suddenly the World Cup arrived in the middle of the season and we went down again.
“We tried to change things. In your head you think: ‘There are many games left, we have a good team.’ You think it’s impossible for it to happen, but it happened and it was very hard. It was a very big shock, especially after the recent successes we had achieved.
“I received some offers (last summer) and my idea, at first, was to leave, but the pre-season began and my head, little by little, clicked. I saw something different. I liked the team, the new manager.
