Marcelino Nunez reveals the real truth behind why he left Norwich City for Ipswich Town | OneFootball

Marcelino Nunez has opened up on the reasons behind his shock decision to leave Norwich City for their East Anglian rivals Ipswich Town.

It is fair to say that midfielder Marcelino Nunez's move from Norwich City to Ipswich Town in the summer caused plenty of controversy in East Anglia.

Nunez scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists in 119 appearances during a successful three-year spell at Norwich, with his most memorable moment coming when he netted the winner in a 1-0 victory over Ipswich in April 2024.

However, despite being a firm fan favourite at the club, Nunez made the shock decision to swap Carrow Road for Portman Road in August, joining the Tractor Boys for an initial fee of £7.2 million, plus a further £2.5 million in achievable add-ons.

Nunez became the first player to make the switch between the two clubs since Andy Marshall in 2001, and the move was greeted by widespread anger among Canaries supporters, with many turning their frustrations towards sporting director Ben Knapper for sanctioning the deal.

To make matters worse for Norwich fans, Nunez has played a key role for Ipswich in their automatic promotion push this season, starring in the number 10 role for Kieran McKenna's side, and he has already matched the assist tally he recorded during his entire time in Norfolk.

Ahead of the latest East Anglian derby on Saturday, McKenna aimed a cheeky dig at the Canaries, claiming that Nunez "made a really big step this year" to join a club that "he felt had a better chance" of achieving his goal of playing Premier League football, and the midfielder himself has now broken his silence.

That was, of course, a game Ipswich won 2-0, as the Tractor Boys completed their first league double over their rivals since 1993.

Marcelino Nunez opens up on decision to leave Norwich City for Ipswich Town

As Nunez prepared to return to Carrow Road for the first time since his Norwich exit, he spoke out on his decision to make the move to Ipswich, explaining that he believed the club were more likely to reach the Premier League than his former employers.

"I was very clear about my goal, which was to fight for the championship, so that's why I made the decision to move to Ipswich," Nunez told Sky Sports.

"The fans welcomed me incredibly well, even though I came from a rival, and overall I'm very happy with the team and with the manager.

"We are very united and also focused on our objective, which is to get promoted to the Premier League."

Despite the backlash he has received since making the switch, Nunez insisted he will forever be grateful to the Canaries for giving him the opportunity to play in England, but he admitted that it was not a difficult call to join the Tractor Boys and work under McKenna.

"It was a very positive step in my career because they opened doors for me to play in Europe," Nunez said.

"It wasn't a very complicated decision because my mentality is to become a champion. With my previous team in Chile, I became a champion five times, and that's my mindset, to win titles.

"It's something coach McKenna had as well. He's an excellent coach for me. I also saw that they had a lot of resources to establish themselves as a strong team and fight for promotion."

Marcelino Nunez will have no regrets over controversial Norwich City, Ipswich Town move

Nunez's decision to leave Norwich for Ipswich certainly raised a few eyebrows, but as things stand, it looks to have been a smart career move for the midfielder.

While the Canaries have improved significantly since Philippe Clement replaced Liam Manning in October, it looks as though reaching the play-offs will be a step too far this season, but Ipswich are in pole position to achieve automatic promotion as the season enters its closing stages.

Even if the Tractor Boys do not win promotion this season, it seems inevitable that Nunez will achieve his goal of playing Premier League football with the Suffolk outfit at some stage, and if that is the case, he will feel the move to Portman Road was completely justified.