Swansea City cult hero Michu has spoken of turning down Aston Villa in 2015.
Despite entering the final year of his deal at the Liberty Stadium, Michu has opened up on why he rejected a move to the Midlands with injuries taking a serious toll on his body.
“I remember in the last year of my contract with Swansea, I had an offer from Aston Villa when Tim Sherwood was manager," he said.
“They offered me a three-year contract, so much money. But I said no because of the pain. They said it was a normal injury and many players can have it.
“Also, if I'd wanted to stay playing in the Premier League, I'd have done it at Swansea, not Aston Villa.
“I could go to Aston Villa and play for three years, two years, whatever. I could play. But I could not play at my highest level. They felt that I was crazy, they thought that I didn't want to play.
“I remember a lunch with my father, my mother and my brother, and they said, 'You can play. The doctor saw the scan and said that you are OK. He said it's a normal injury'. I said, 'It's impossible. I'm in pain walking and running'.
“When you go training, you normally do a couple of laps to warm up. For me, that was the worst moment of training. Those two laps…I was in so much pain."
Michu added: “What was frustrating was that nobody trusted what I said. I told my wife a couple of times when I argued with her, 'If you had my pain, you'd be finished!'"
“They saw me happy when I was scoring goals," he added. “But do you know what is also a problem? My mum is a teacher.
“I have a three-year contract offer with Aston Villa and she thinks, 'I can't earn this money in two lifetimes. Go and do it!'
“I said, 'But I have pain'. She said, 'But the doctor said that you're OK!'. I said, 'No, mum, I'm going to play in Langreo in the third division, with my brother as coach, and I'm not going to earn any money!'"