On the day his return to the club was announced, Roberto Pereyra spoke about his decision and his feelings on Udinese Tonight.
“Coming back here was an amazing feeling,” the 32-year-old began. “Everyone showed me so much love. It was so nice to see my team-mates and the boss again.
“There was a lot of talk of other clubs but that's all it was – talk. There were a few situations but I feel at home here and so do my family. That's why I stayed.
“The transfer window was strange but I was always calm. The money was never a problem. I made a choice for my happiness. I trusted people who didn't do a good job and I made a mistake. It's my fault that I didn't stay here all along. But in the end I got what I wanted, which was to come back to Udinese.”
The midfielder also spoke about a chance encounter with Andrea Sottil and talks with sporting director Federico Balzaretti.
“I bumped into the coach in the city centre. I get on really well with him. He's very direct and doesn't mince his words. The younger lads must listen to him because he's very good.
“An agreement was reached with Balzaretti very quickly, in just a couple of days.”
El Tucu then explained why his bond with Udinese was renewed only in September.
“I hoped to be able to play European football but then I spoke to the president very honestly and told him I wanted to come back. Now I'm here and I'm happy to be here. I'm focused solely on Udinese and on winning games. We need to start playing like Udinese again, as we did last season. I'm happy to play anywhere: on the wing, in the middle or up front.”
Pereyra will begin training with the squad immediately as he feels “good physically” having worked over the last two months while his team-mates had their pre-season training camp.
“This is a good team. People need to be patient because we have lots of youngsters who have come from different cultures and different football systems. It may look like nothing is going well at the moment but it's not actually like that. We have plenty of quality.
“Lots of players here have a great future ahead – and not just Sandi Lovric, Lazar Samardzic and Jaka Bijol. I'm sure lots of others can take off too. I want to help these lads to express themselves.”
One of those players is his compatriot Martin Payero.
“I'm sure he'll be an important player for us. I didn't know him personally but I saw a lot of his matches in Argentina.”
Pereyra finished with a message for the fans: “I'm delighted to be back. Udinese was always a priority for me. I want to thank everyone for the love they've shown. I just ask everyone to be a bit patient because we have a good team. Now we must start winning games – to climb the table and restore enthusiasm.”