Monchi, now working at Espanyol, has spoken about the long history behind his eventual move to Aston Villa to work under Unai Emery, a reunion that came only after the Spanish coach had tried and failed to bring him to two other clubs first, according to Mucho Deporte.
The pair will cross paths again on 2 October, when Emery returns to Sevilla, his former club, for the Antonio Puerta Trophy with Villa as the opponents, his first trip back since leaving.
The first near-miss came when Monchi was leaving Roma.
He explained: "Once I had decided to leave Roma, Unai called me about going to Arsenal. I was on the verge of going. But amidst the whirlwind of exchanging contracts with Arsenal, Pepe Castro called me.
"Just as he had helped me leave for Roma because I asked him to, I couldn't say no to that call.
"It caused a bit of friction with Unai – because he was very excited, as was I, about me going to Arsenal – but I came to Sevilla instead. I am incredibly grateful for that second spell and that opportunity in Sevilla, even though those were four difficult, complicated years."
A second attempt came when Emery left Sevilla for Paris Saint-Germain in 2016, in circumstances Monchi could only learn about after the fact.
"Every time the season ended, it was an issue. Unai would get calls from various teams – Milan, Napoli – and in the end, we'd manage to steer him back on track. Then, during that particular season, rumours about PSG started circulating. He didn't pick up at first, but eventually, he did.
"He told me, 'Look, Monchi, I couldn't tell you anything because PSG told me they were working on terminating Laurent Blanc's contract. They couldn't say a word because it involved a huge sum of money and they had to negotiate it, so I couldn't tell you anything. But yes, I've received an offer from PSG, and I'm going.'
"So, he left – no hard feelings – and we maintained our relationship. Later, he asked me to join him at PSG, then at Arsenal, and eventually, I did join him at Aston Villa."
Having spent two years together in the Midlands before Monchi returned to Spain, he says the version of Emery he found at Villa was markedly different from the one he had known at Sevilla:
"The Unai I know from Sevilla is nothing like the Unai I've come to know in Birmingham; he is a much better Unai, because he is someone who is always striving to improve. He is deeply inquisitive about football – obsessed with video analysis, imagery, and match preparation – and a coach who has almost always been successful."