Ayoze Perez revealed he rejected moves to Barcelona, Real Madrid and Porto in favour of joining Newcastle.
The Spaniard signed for the Magpies in 2014 from Tenerife for just £1.5million.
The 26-year-old told talkSPORT why he chose to join the Premier League club rather than take the interest from elsewhere.
Perez said: “The Under-21s of Madrid and Barcelona wanted me but that would mean I was going to play in the second division again. The offers were of Porto, first team, and Newcastle first team as well.
“Obviously, being in a club like Real Madrid or Barcelona is always special but that second team option made me think maybe it wasn’t the right move.
“I was close to moving to Porto, very, very close. Just little details were delaying the move but at that moment Newcastle made a call and were very interested in me.
“They didn’t fight for the little details. I always had the dream of playing in the Premier League so that was the opportunity.”
Perez spent five seasons at Newcastle scoring 48 goals in 195 appearances before making a £30million switch to Leicester last summer.
The Foxes have been flying high and were third in the Premier League when the coronavirus pandemic cause all fixtures to be suspended.
He said: “It’s another challenge. Totally different. A new club. An organised club developing they want to grow up and that’s important the way they do things. They do the right things and that brings you success. That’s why we are doing very well this season and yeah it has been a challenge playing in a different position.
“Obviously, it’s been a challenge but been a very enjoyable year.”
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The Spaniard has also been enjoying working with manager Brendan Rodgers who he says is able to get the best out of everyone.
Perez added: “He’s a great manager. A very good manager. You can tell because it’s a young squad and he’s getting the best out of it.
“That’s not easy. In terms of football he’s very clever. He knows what he wants and tries to make the squad think we can be a top team. We have the quality but it’s not enough with that we need a mix of everything.
“He’s very close to the players in terms of personal stuff. That’s important in terms of football and the dressing room. It’s that kind of manager that looks after every detail. At the end of the day that matters a lot and that’s very important and that’s why we are doing so well.”
