“Mumbai City FC have made me feel very comfortable,” says former Kerala Blasters man Jorge Pereyra Diaz

Jorge Pereyra Diaz became a household name for his exceptional stint at Kerala Blasters last season where he took them to the Indian Super League finals. Although they were not able to win the title they showed exceptional tenacity to fight till the last penalty kick. Diaz was one of the fan favourites among the Yellow Army and many people guessed that the Argentinian will be rejoining the Blasters for at least another season.

But in a shocking turn of events, Jorge Pereyra Diaz decided to sign for Mumbai City FC leaving a sour taste in the mouths of the Kerala Blasters’ fans. They simply co8uld not believe how a fan favourite decided to sign for another ISL club. The move was a shocking for a few neutrals and experts as well as they simply could not believe the departure of Alvaro Vazquez and Jorge Pereyra Diaz from last season’s Blasters side.

However Diaz has started making a positive impact for the Islanders. His partnership with Greg Stewart will be interesting to see as they gear up for the new ISL season.In a recent interview with IFTWC, the Argentinian revealed how he was under the impression of joining Kerala Blasters again but sadly things did not work out for him and he had to weigh others.

Speaking about his first season in India Diaz shared, “It was a nice experience playing in India. You could say that it was a good season for me, but I want to achieve more.”

“For a long time – almost two or three months – I was under the impression that I would be returning to Kerala Blasters. But in the end, the club had other plans. It was a shock (to me), but that is football. After this, I had to weigh my options; I knew there were some offers from clubs in the Gulf and the Middle East, but I didn’t want me and my family to go through the process of settling in a new country, and a new team, again.”

The forward revealed how he received a call from Mumbai City FC and it was an easy decision for him and his family as they wanted to stay in India and also a club of Mumbai City’s stature made the offer more lucrative. “When I got the call from Mumbai City and it was a very easy decision to make. With the professionalism and the ambition that Mumbai City have, being a part of City Football Group, which has successful clubs all over the world, I knew I wanted to join Mumbai City as soon as they called me.”

Diaz shared how he is not satisfied living with his last season’s accolades and wants to score more goals than last season and win trophies. “For me as a striker, I want to score more goals than last season. But more importantly, I want to win trophies. I know we are playing in a few competitions this season and I want to win everything we participate in, starting with the Durand Cup,” Diaz shared as he wishes to start making a mark from the ongoing Durand Cup.

Lastly Diaz shared how coach Des Buckingham is very clear with his thoughts as a tactician and has made him feel very comfortable. He also understands that the team is very balanced and have strong players so he always needs to give his best to make the starting lineup. Overall Diaz shares that he is in a very comfortable space with the Islanders. “Des called me and told me that he wants me here. He told me that we have a good team here, good people and it says a lot about him as a person. There is a lot of competition but the staff and all the people here have made it easy for me to integrate here and I am very comfortable already,” he concluded.