I want to leave, but in a fair and correct manner: Matheus Pereira

West Bromwich Albion (WBA) attacker Matheus Pereira has opened up about the controversy surrounding his probable exit from the club. Pereira stated that he remained silent with the desire to not address anything until the transfer window ended, out of respect for the fans and teammates. However, he was forced to step up and defend himself after being called “not committed”, resulting in a sense of disrespect being experienced as a professional footballer.

“I remained silent and was not going to address anything until after the transfer window out of respect for the fans and all my team mates, however after being called “not committed” with the club I felt extremely disrespected as a professional. I’ve been living off football since I was 12 years old, I chose to give up family time and just ordinary fun to chase after a dream of a better future for my self and those around me. No one has ever seen an interview in which I bad mouthed the club, or any one associated with the club or even that I wanted to leave the club by any means,” said Pereira in a post on social media.

“That is because I have character and I respect the club as it opened its doors to me when I needed and believed in me. Dedication has never lacked and I’ve alway been committed in the last two seasons. We fought our way back to the Premier League and we fought to stay in the Premier League and I know every single professional also fought for those goals just as I did. It is extremely wrong for anybody to say I’m “not committed” since I train and commit as I normally would and give 100% every single day. I think its low to try and degrade my image and my professionalism in this manner,” he added.

“I want the club to be adequately rewarded”

The Brazilian footballer stated that he did not wish to leave WBA through the back door. He wanted the club to be adequately rewarded for believing in him.

“I don’t want to leave the club through the back door, that was never my plan or intention quite the contrary, I want the club to be adequately rewarded for believing in me and supporting me for two seasons. 3 weeks ago, I received an offer that would change my life and my family’s life for ever. I come from humble beginnings, slowly but shortly I’ve been building my self up and achieving things with a lot of hard work and dedication.”

“For to achieve financial freedom at 25 would be unimaginable. I want to leave I want to seek new experiences but want to do this in a fair and correct manner. I will forever be grateful to WBA, to its fans and every single professional that works at the club and that welcomed me with open arms, to those that cheered for me these last two seasons, you’re part of my history! I’m a professional and will always respect that. Matheus Pereira,” he concluded.