Newcastle United have enjoyed drastic transformation over the past two years, going from strength to strength and now a force to be reckoned with in the Champions League, having previously struggled against the incessant threat of relegation from the Premier League.
It had been a dark, protracted period for the Magpies, under the shadow of despised owner Mike Ashley after once fighting for glory at the right end of the spectrum with regularity.
But the Saudi-led consortium that lodged an enticing offer set a new era in motion in 2021, with the moves made now systematically rewriting Newcastle's future, and while there has been so much to wax lyrical over, Wednesday night's 4-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League stakes a pretty compelling case for the finest night under Eddie Howe's management.
Those former times under Ashley are now but a forgotten memory, a smear in the club's distinguished history no doubt, but now in the past and fuel to ensure that the fruitful present period is cemented and solidified into something permanent.
There were so many negatives over the interminable years of mediocrity, but one of the biggest positives is surely the success of Ayoze Perez, who captured the Toon faithfuls' awe before ultimately leaving for a lucrative fee.
Why did Newcastle sell Ayoze Perez?
"It was a big factor, but also I felt it was time for a change and a new challenge," Perez remarks pensively following his departure from St. James' Park, where he was held in such high regard.
He's talking about the loss of manager Rafa Benitez, who himself left the club in the summer of 2019 – shortly before Perez – after expressing concerns about trust in the ownership and the direction the club was headed.
Perez had been a central star on Tyneside since signing from Spanish side Tenerife for a bargain £1.5m in 2014, when he was just 20 years old.
Upon his departure to Premier League rivals Leicester City, the Spaniard revealed that his thoughts mirrored his former manager's, and he made his move just days into Steve Bruce's reign of the club.
How much did Newcastle sell Ayoze Perez for?
Newcastle did not want to sell an exciting attacker they had nurtured to the fore, but were left with little choice when Leicester met his £30m buy-out clause, snapping up his signature on a four-year contract.
A host of top European outfits were rumoured to be interested, but the Foxes were on the rise and it was a project to get behind, with Newcastle showing little sign of breaking free from midtable, having finished 13th in the 2018/19 season, regressing from tenth the term before.
Frenchman Allan Saint-Maximin was signed from OGC Nice for an initial £16m soon after, a mercurial replacement who certainly captured the awe on Tyneside, but there was undoubtedly disgruntlement that a player who had been so important during the progress under Benitez had been sold to a rival.
How good was Ayoze Perez at Newcastle?
Having made 195 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 48 goals and supplying 17 assists, Perez was a valuable and clinical member of the squad, praised for his "unbelievable" performances by Matt Ritchie.
Across his final two Premier League campaigns at St. James' Park, the 30-year-old would finish as Newcastle's top scorer on both occasions, bagging eight in 2017/18 and 12 in 2018/19.
He was an impressive player capable of thriving both as a centre-forward and on the left wing; during those final two seasons for United, Perez had 115 shots in 73 Premier League appearances – averaging 1.57 per game.
Colourful and confident, he was efficient and often popped up at the right times to inflict damage on opposition, with Benitez even remarking that a goal scored in a 3-2 comeback victory over Everton would have left Lionel Messi feeling proud.
He is remembered endearingly at Newcastle, but the fact that such a lofty fee was received for the gem, who has since languished, it's certainly one to recall with fondness after maximising his potential before reaping the lucrative rewards.
How much is Ayoze Perez worth now?
He's never really returned to the kind of form that earned him that big-money move to Leicester, and while he scored eight times during his first Premier League season at the King Power Stadium, he followed that up with just four goals across the following three seasons in the English top-flight.
According to Football Transfers, Perez – now playing for Real Betis in his homeland – is valued at just £8m, which is a staggering 167% decrease from the price that Leicester paid Newcastle.
This can only be regarded as a major win for the Magpies, who have since risen to prominence unheard of for many years and are in good stead to continue their climb right to the forefront of the European game.
Since joining Betis, Perez has only scored five goals and supplied three assists across 30 outings, which is further evidence that, now 30, his once impressive cutting edge has been dulled and shows little sign of rekindling its former intensity.
And while he still boasts a defensive application to be proud of, ranking among the top 9% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles, the top 5% for interceptions and the top 14% for blocks per 90, he ranks among the bottom 55% for goals and the bottom 21% for assists per 90, as per FBref.
Good business was not a phrase used regularly before the change of ownership at St. James' Park, but signing Perez for a paltry fee as a youngster, channelling the best of his talents on the major stage and then selling him for a 1900% profit is pretty sensational stuff.
They really did hit the jackpot with this dynamic forward, with his sale bringing in Saint-Maximin for half the price, who was integral in the future fight against relegation and the maiden period of Howe's managerial reign.