Translation of this article with the relevant to City bits
Máximo Perrone speaks and is listened to as a mature guy who responds with the experience he treasures. But he just turned 20 in the first week of 2023 and his professional starting point is right here on the timeline. He has only 33 appearances with the
Vélez jersey distributed between the
Copa Libertadores , the
Professional Soccer League and his Cup, in addition to a single match for the
Copa Argentina . All this the same year that the Argentine National Team won the
World Cup in Qatar .
He insists, Perrone speaks as if there weren't 33 games and he has a prudence that is difficult to find in boys his age. He is going to play for
Manchester City - who paid 9.2 million euros to break his release clause - and will be
Julián Álvarez 's teammate in
Pep Guardiola 's team . But that still hasn't happened. The midfielder is in
Colombia with the Under 20 team directed by
Javier Mascherano and that this Saturday, with the three official stars on the shirt, will debut in the South American against
Paraguay, for the second date of Group A.
Left-handed, with the elegance of the classic "five", the ability to step into the area as an insider and the versatility to play closer to the wings, Guardiola will polish him in any sector of the field.
“Five or eight is what I like the most. Afterwards, I play anywhere because I am happy playing” , he says with freshness. In a break in the preparation for the match against Paraguay, Perrone answered the telephone call from
Clarín and shared his feelings about a present that he tries to navigate without thinking about the future. It is that if he thinks today about what he is going to do tomorrow, he believes that when it is his turn to play he will have his head elsewhere.
Are you looking for someone's advice for these moments: last year's boom, the sale to City, the South American, who are you talking to?
-Not only. Only. Soccer is now, today. If one goes to what can come, he loses focus and things can go wrong. It is a way of handling myself that I have, of being focused on today.
- And what did Pep tell you?
-I did not speak with Guardiola. I did not have communication with him, but with someone from the club who was contacted.
-And with Julián Álvarez?
-I know Julián from before, we once did a photo session with the National Team's shirt, we crossed paths in the Vélez-River. We have little relationship, but good.
-And did you ask him what day-to-day life was like at City?
-Honestly, I'm honest, I swear I don't think about anything other than this. What has to come after the South American will come.
-In Vélez you were a starter and captain... In City, no.
-I understand that it is always like that, when I was in Reserve I was a starter and when I went to first I was a substitute. When you advance, you always start from behind. I don't give importance to that. I am going to the place in the world where I will grow the most. So that's not something that worries me.
Doesn't it scare you or scare you?
-No. And being afraid is not bad. I am sure that fear will never stop me. Fear, fear, some insecurity, will always appear, the issue is that this fear does not stop you and I am very calm.