Valencia captain Dani Parejo has revealed that he rejected the chance to leave the Mestalla last month as he did not want to walk away from Los Che in their current position.
The 27-year-old was strongly linked with a move to Sevilla in the January transfer window, but ultimately stayed with Valencia - the club that he has represented since 2011.
"I could have left, but I didn't," Parejo told AS. "I believed it wasn't the best for Valencia because we are in a delicate situation and my duty is to give my contribution to this team to come out of this situation.
"I reiterate that I want my departure to be good for everyone, and in January, it wouldn't have been good for Valencia. There was interest from Sevilla (last summer) - I thought my time at Valencia had come to an end and I told the club that I wanted to leave. The club said no and I stayed.
"We had hoped to compete for Europe but unfortunately, our aim is now to avoid the drop. It has been a mixture of everything. Of course, we, the players, are mostly to blame but we are also affected by what happens around us. We are aware of the situation and united."
A difficult 2016-17 campaign to date has left Valencia in 15th position in La Liga - just four points outside of the relegation zone.
Matt Law
