I snubbed Arsenal to follow Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia and I made the right decision
Gabri Veiga has insisted that he was right to join the Saudi Pro League despite 'strong interest' from some top European clubs. The 21-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in the summer as Mikel Arteta looked to further bolster his midfield.
The Gunners were reportedly one of numerous teams, including Chelsea, who were interested in Veiga before he decided to jet off to the Middle East instead. The Spain Under-21 international joined Al-Ahli in a deal worth around £34million and, despite a whirlwind of backlash, he hasn't looked back since.
In an interview with Spanish publication AS, as quoted by Sport Witness, Veiga was quizzed on his decision to leave the Spanish top flight. He said: «Everything that comes out is not true, unfortunately. The truth is that I leave all that in the hands of my representatives.
»I have full confidence in them. I was focused on finishing a dream season, which in the end got complicated, without being aware of any kind of rumour. Perhaps at some point there was a strong interest, but later on in the lists another type of profile gains more strength."
«But I can tell you that in August I was faced with a situation and I took the decision I thought was the right one,» said Veiga. «I'm 100 per cent sure that it was the right one.»
Shortly after describing Veiga's move to Saudi Arabia as 'embarrassing' in the comment section of a post from Fabrizio Romano announcing the transfer, Toni Kroos questioned why players would want to leave Europe so early into their careers.
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