Lyon winger Rachid Ghezzal has revealed that he rejected the chance to join Everton in the summer as money has never been his primary motivation.
With only a year left on his contract with Lyon, the Algerian was widely linked with a move away from the club all summer, and a number of clubs were keen to secure his signature.
Ghezzal pondered over his future at Lyon all summer, and even had a lucrative offer to join Everton, but the wide-man decided against moving to Goodison Park and stayed in France.
With Lyon being in the Champions League, and Everton not competing in Europe, Ghezzal feels he made the right call in the summer and insisted that he was never going to leave his current club just because of financial reasons.
The 24-year-old told French broadcaster Canal+: “It’s not just the money that interests me, there are also my sporting interests.
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“I am not playing in a club who are rotten; they are Olympique Lyonnais, we play in the Champions League.
“I have good coach who trusts me, and we have a good group. I was never going to go away just for the money.
“In footballing terms, Everton were less interesting than Lyon.”
Ghezzal, who is yet to sign a new deal with Lyon, has clocked up 86 appearances for the Ligue 1 oufit, and has been reinstated to the club’s first team squad after the transfer window closed.
He has also earned six international caps for Algeria.
