Valencia's Dani Parejo Dimisses Claims He Changed Agent to Engineer Barcelona Move
Spanish midfielder Dani Parejo has denied reports that his decision to change agents was in an attempt to facilitate a dream move to Barcelona in the summer.
The Valencia captain told Marca that claims he wanted to leave to move to Catalonia were untrue, and he had merely decided a fresh face was necessary within his camp.
Parejo, a Real Madrid academy graduate who once played half a season on-loan with QPR in the English Championship, was linked with La Blaugrana after Neymar was sold to Paris Saint-Germain for £200m in August. However, he refuted suggestions that a parting of the ways with his former representatives was down to becoming a new recruit at Camp Nou.
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He said: "No, it was the other way around. I had been with [the agency] Bahia all my career and I need to thank them, as they've done a great job for me.
"However, I thought it was necessary to make a change because there are some situations which you think can do better.
"It is not that I wanted to go to Barcelona. If Barcelona want a player then they come, they pay the release clause and if the player wants to leave then he does.
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"I don't know if Barcelona were considering it, with all of the commotion of that window. But I always had the mindset of wanting to stay. Since Marcelino arrived, I told him I want to train with him."
A report in El Confidencial had alleged that the centre midfielder was on Ernesto Valverde's radar after he became Barcelona's new boss. Parejo, though, stated that he wouldn't have used underhand tactics to join Valverde in north east Spain as he owed a "debt" to Valencia for giving him a chance to showcase his talents.
He continued: "I've been with Valencia almost all my career and owe a lot to the club and the city. I cannot behave poorly with the club that has given me almost everything in my footballing life.
"If I do have to leave here one day then I hope it will be a long time away."
