Former Arsenal striker Lucas Perez has spoken out about his childhood (Image: GETTY)
Former Arsenal striker Lucas Perez has spoken out about his difficult childhood and recent exit from Deportivo La Coruna.
The 36-year-old has joined PSV on a short-term deal until the end of the season but won’t be able to play against the Gunners in the as the Dutch team had already submitted their squad list for the knockout stages of the competition ahead of his arrival.
Perez joined from Deportivo in 2016 following spells with the likes of Rayo Vallecano, Dynamo Kyiv and PAOK.
He scored seven goals in 21 appearances for the north London giants but returned to Deportivo on loan a year after his arrival in England, before .
Discussing his upbringing during an interview with , Perez explained: “I was raised by my grandparents – my father’s parents.
“When I was two, my parents left me in an orphanage because they couldn’t or didn’t want to take care of me. This season, I received a complaint from my father demanding that I pay maintenance for the rest of his life.
“From then on, I spent several months until I left Deportivo with a lot of stress and a lot of anxiety because I had to relive very difficult moments in my life.”
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Arsenal signed Lucas Perez in 2016, with the striker featuring 21 times for the Gunners (Image: GETTY)
He then stated: “When I signed for , my mother also sent me a burofax demanding money. But she can’t claim it because she’s not listed in the joint custody.
“My grandparents asked for custody and later my grandmother allowed my father to take over. I was lucky to have my grandparents, but they couldn’t last as long as they should have.”
Perez, who scored his only Premier League goal for during a 3-3 draw with Bournemouth in January 2017, featured 20 times for Deportivo this season before his contract was terminated.
And discussing his decision to leave the La Liga 2 club, he added: “I’m leaving now because the issue with my father continues. I’ve met him several times this Christmas and it’s not a pleasant experience.
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“Given that the situation at the club wasn’t right, because I didn’t feel valued or supported, I decided to be honest and tell them that I’m having a hard time stepping aside.
“The club and I spoke. There were two games left to reach the 20-year mark with which I was going to renew and I didn’t want to. Two days later, after saying that we were going to take a break, I received a letter from the club asking me to sign a written commitment with them.
“I consider that they don’t know what Deportivo means to me and when there is doubt like that, the best thing to do is to step aside.”