New Paris Saint-Germain star Jese Rodriguez reveals he snubbed offers from England after completing £21m Real Madrid exit
Spanish forward linked with Arsenal and Liverpool before deciding to join Unai Emery's revolution in French capital
JESE RODRIGUEZ has revealed he snubbed offers from England after being officially unveiled as a Paris Saint-Germain player.
The former Real Madrid striker has signed for the French champions in a deal worth £21million, with SunSport reporting on the agreement earlier this month.
Jese will now be looking to establish himself as a first-team regular after playing a bit-role at the Santiago Bernabeu, and arrives as a replacement for now-Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
But the 23-year-old’s versatility means he can challenge the likes of Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria, Javier Pastore and Lucas Moura for a place in Unai Emery’s starting XI.
However, despite reported interest from Arsenal and Liverpool, Jese is hungry to win everything possible alongside fellow summer signings Thomas Meunier, Hatem Ben Arfa and Grzegorz Krychowiak, saying: “I’m very happy to be here, I will do everything to win the title here. I will learn French as quickly as possible!
“I can play in the four offensive positions. I’m available for the coach and I will give everything. Many Spanish clubs wanted me and some English too. Emery influenced me, [president] Nasser Al-Khelaifi and [director of football] Patrick Kluivert convinced me.
“It’s been a great ten years at Real Madrid but it was time for me to make a step in my career. Zlatan is a great player, but I want to progress and improve to help my teammates. We’ll see if in a few years I can reach his level.
“I spoke to Zinedine Zidane, he gave me a lot of confidence. Thank you to him, to Florentino and my teammates. Real will always be my club but I want to win everything with PSG.
“I have not spoken to Emery about my availability date but we’ll see. Ligue 1 is a difficult championship but the best players are at PSG.
“I came to the best club in France. I saw their games, I like teams that keep the ball and are very offensive. I spoke with Thiago Silva after his injury. We exchanged messages, he is very happy that I’ve come.”
Meanwhile, President Al-Khelaifi revealed at the same press conference that Jese will be PSG’s final signing of the window while also ruling out an exit for reported Manchester United target Blaise Matuidi, who has also been linked with Chelsea.
He added: “I think Jese’s our last recruit this summer. We are a good team, we are very pleased with our recruitment. The transfer window is over for me.
“Matuidi has a contract with us and we have a very good relationship. We have not discussed his departure. Matuidi is a pillar of the team.”