Martin Petrov has reflected on his return to Spanish football, after being presented as an Espanyol player this week.
Monday saw the former Atletico Madrid midfielder complete his return to La Liga after six years in the Premier League and Championship with Manchester City and Bolton.
“I could not let this opportunity to play against the best players in the world pass by,” explained Bulgarian Petrov in being presented to the media at Cornella-El Prat.
“Going from playing the English second division to returning to Spain is a wonderful thing for me. I was in England, so you can imagine the change in climate in Barcelona. My family is very happy.”
Petrov has a deal signed until the end of the season, with an option in place for an extra year, but he insisted that in turning 34 today, age is no concern.
“I’m not very young, but the Coach trusts me. Espanyol are a historic club in the Primera Division, not the Segunda. With my experience I want to help them achieve survival. We’re going to fight to get out of this.
“Espanyol have an impressive ground and the fans always support the team. This is very important to improve the situation.
“The truth is that I have not played very much in the last six months, but last week I played 90 minutes in the FA Cup and I feel good, though I do not have the strength of a 23-year-old.”
Petrov’s move to Espanyol reunites him with Coach Javier Aguirre, from their time together at Atletico.
“He is very positive for me. During my last season at Atletico I was injured, but he was very supportive and I will always remember my talks with him.”
