Former Arsenal player opens up on childhood trauma and legal case with father who abandoned him aged two

Former Arsenal and West Ham forward Lucas Perez has emotionally opened up on his departure from his boyhood side.

The Spanish winger, who has 26 Premier League appearances to his name, became one of football’s good news stories in 2023 when he returned to his childhood club Deportivo La Coruna to play for free.

The former LaLiga champions sunk to a new low in 2020 with relegation to the third tier, and Perez’s arrival saw them promoted back to the second.

Yet the story turned sour in January this year when Perez left the club for free, and he’s since signed for Dutch side PSV Eindhoven until the end of the season.

At the time of his departure from Depor he told the media he’d explain later, citing ‘personal situations’ he’s now opened up on.

Having explained to Cadena COPE that he discovered people at the club were trying to sell him, Depor’s lack of support was shown up further when his estranged father tried to exert legal pressure.

“A burofax arrives at the club with a complaint from my father,” the 36-year-old began. 

“I was raised by my grandparents after going through an orphanage, where my parents left me when I was two years old. 

“My father demands maintenance for the rest of his life. I have had to go to social services to ask for information, I have read things about my life and a child needs to have a mother and a father as role models; luckily I had my grandparents.”

He added: “When I signed for Arsenal, my mother also sent me a burofax asking for money. The issue with my father continues, the trial is coming up and I have met him several times.”

Perez was then asked if he considered retiring due to the distractions, but was steadfast in his response.

"I never thought about leaving football because I love it so much,” he said. 

“But life puts you in situations and you have to be strong and brave. I want to go out playing on a football pitch, not in this situation. 

“All these words are for the fans, so they understand me. I thank life for having put Ivan [my son] in my life." 

Perez will aid PSV’s Eredivisie title charge, but he won’t face former club Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League as his signing came after the registration window.

It’s also been revealed elsewhere that Perez drove 1,000 miles from Spain to the Netherlands to join his new club due to a long-held fear of flying.