Demarai Gray has spoken further about his move from Everton Al Ettifaq to play and score goals for Jamaica.
Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson were among the factors influencing Demarai Gray’s move from Everton to Saudi Arabia.
Gray completed a move to Al-Ettifaq on Thursday, worth around £8m to the Blues, after the breakdown of his relationship with the club behind the scenes was made public following the Premier League transfer window ended a few days later.
earlier..
With the escalating row leaving his future at Everton in doubt and Middle Eastern clubs among the few options to leave last week, Gray said new team-mate Henderson and new boss Gerrard had played a role in his decision to leave Europe..
He had been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League for much of August.
Speaking after playing for Jamaica against Honduras on Saturday, as quoted by Jamaican media outlet The Gleaner, Gray highlighted the role the two former Liverpool captains played in his decision:
“I think it’s time for me to move on and talk to the manager there, I feel like I want a new challenge, a new opportunity and it feels like something completely different.
“There’s a lot of hype around the Saudi Arabian Super League at the moment, it’s quite big and a lot of players are going there… I think about myself and where I’m at in my career right now, I think” It was a good idea for me and I got influence from other players, like Henderson.
I had good advice, good support and that helped me make my decision.“
Gray’s career at Everton seemed to have been revived but ended on an eventful weekend.
In an apparent attack on Blues boss Sean Dyche, Gray took to social media to claim “it’s hard to play for someone who doesn’t show respect for you as a person”.
It comes less than 24 hours after Dyche suggested Gray, who did not feature in the latter stages of pre-season or Everton’s first five matches of the campaign, was part of his plans.
Dyche later claimed that Gray had refused to train to be reprimanded, the main message being that there was no bigger player at the club.
Gray’s prolonged absence from the first team is believed to be due to Dyche’s fitness problems.
In a farewell message from the Blues, the 27-year-old declared himself fit for the match, then played – and scored – for Jamaica at the weekend.
Gray said he was “disappointed” with the end of his time at Everton and added:
“Obviously, coming from England where my family is from, it was a difficult decision but in football sometimes you have to make sacrifices.
Yes, I’m disappointed with the way Everton left because they gave me some great moments when we were fighting relegation for two years and trying to stay afloat.
I wished them the best, made good friends there, but that chapter is NOW over.