Pérez, 38, is out of contract at Rayo at the end of June. Reports in Spain have consistently linked him with a move to Villarreal — who are seeking a new head coach following the end of their arrangement with former manager Marcelino — and those reports have intensified since Rayo's qualification for the final.
Speaking before Rayo's Monday night La Liga fixture against Girona, Pérez addressed the speculation directly.
"I don't think the Leipzig final will influence my future at all. I don't operate within those parameters because I believe my decision is already clear on my part — and considered. It is not the moment to talk about it now. I am very happy right now."
He has used similar language throughout the season when pressed on the subject, consistently declining to elaborate while making clear the decision is not undecided.
Pérez took charge of Rayo in June 2023, initially with a short-term mandate, and guided the club from mid-table obscurity into their first European campaign and then all the way to a continental final. He has spoken admiringly of Marcelo Bielsa as a philosophical influence, and his team's pressing-based, front-foot approach reflects that lineage clearly.
Rayo sit 14th in La Liga with four matches remaining — Valencia away, Girona at home, Villarreal at home and Alavés away before Leipzig. The Villarreal fixture on the penultimate weekend carries an additional edge given the transfer speculation surrounding Pérez.
Whether he leaves as the manager who won Rayo their first ever European trophy or as the man who took them to the final and then departed will be known within three weeks. Either way, a man who inherited a club with no European pedigree and turned them into continental finalists has earned the right to leave on his own terms.