Perea: "Cleber Santana was such a happy, easy-going guy"

Shocked by the news

Luis Amaranto Perea spoke about his sadness on hearing news of the tragic plane crash which claimed the lives of Chapecoense as the Brazilian team was on en route to play a football match in Colombia. Perea and Santana had been team mates at Atlético Madrid in 2009-10.

Good memories

“It was very tough to wake up to news like this, The world of football is in shock, and in my case, there was a player in the squad with whom I was team mates with, which makes it even tougher to take. I send my condolences to his family, his friends and would just like to say to them that we share their pain”, a visibly distressed Perea told reporters in Madrid. “He was a very easy-going, happy guy - like most Brazilians are. He was very hard-working and great to get on with; he integrated well with other people. I have so many good memories of him”.