Andoni Iraola: Villarreal boss could've been my assistant coach at Liverpool

The pair share a long-standing relationship, having spent five years together in Athletic Bilbao's first-team set-up between 2009 and 2014. Perez, 38, later worked under Iraola as his assistant at Rayo Vallecano during the 2022–23 campaign.

When Iraola took charge of Bournemouth in 2023, he wanted Perez alongside him, but the application setback forced him to look elsewhere.

Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper subsequently worked with Iraola at Bournemouth before following him to Liverpool when he joined the club in the off-season.

Perez now faces his former colleague in the Champions League, with Villarreal travelling to Anfield for Wednesday evening's encounter.

"Yes, I certainly think so," Iraola told Amazon Prime Video when asked if Perez could have been with him at Liverpool.

"At Bournemouth, he didn't have the required experience or the required number of years as an assistant to prove he was good enough to work here in the Premier League.

"I remember there was a panel, too. I remember making videos, calling a lot of famous players and trying to convince the panel that he was good enough to be the assistant, but sadly, it didn't work. But that happens in football.

"When you are good, you are good, and he's now coaching in the Champions League, so he's certainly proved he was good enough, not just to be an assistant but to coach here."

He added: "He has always understood the game well.

"Players like him and me weren't big athletes, so we had to do everything well on the pitch and make all the right decisions. This is the starting point for a lot of coaches, and in this case, I think it's quite similar."