Plymouth striker Andre Gray has said he thought he would never get the chance to play in England again.
The 33-year-old scored two superb goals – the second in the final seconds of stoppage time – to secure Argyle a 2-2 draw with Watford in the Championship on Friday.
Gray joined the Pilgrims on a short-term deal as a free agent last month, having been without a club since leaving Saudi Arabian side Al-Riyadh in the summer.
He had not played in England since 2022 when he left Watford and joined Greek side Aris.
“I thought that ship had sailed,” Gray told BBC Sport.
“Unfortunately, for whatever reason, when you seem to leave England and go to Saudi Arabia, probably not so much Greece, I think people look at you differently.
“They have a lot of questions about your mentality and whatever.
“For me, it’s frustrating because I know, in my head and heart, how I still want to play and I feel like I’ve still got it to play at this level.”
Gray played more than 200 times in the Championship for Brentford, Queens Park Rangers, Burnley and Watford – the latter two paying more than £20m between them in transfer fees for the striker.
But he said he struggled to find a team to take him after returning from a season in the Saudi Pro League where he scored seven goals as Al-Riyadh finished 14th in the 18-team league.
“Everyone seems to think ‘oh, he’s gone to Saudi, he wants this much money, he wants that much money’,” Gray added.
“It was never the case. If you give me the opportunity then I’ll come and prove my point.
“I’ve got no reason to come all the way down to Plymouth if my mind wasn’t in it.
“It’s a waste of my time to travel all this way, it’s not close, so I’m very grateful that they gave me an opportunity. Everything happens for a reason and I’m here now.”
Gray said he had never scored two better goals in one game than the two he scored against Watford.
His first-half equaliser was a controlled right-footed low volley from a long diagonal ball, while his second was an excellent curling effort into the top corner from the left corner of the 18-yard box.
“His second goal was a fantastic finish,” Argyle head coach and England’s former record goalscorer Wayne Rooney said.
“But I think the the first goal – I know how difficult the technique and concentration you need for the ball going over your shoulder – it’s world class.”
Gray’s place in the starting line-up was only confirmed in the hours before kick-off after team-mate Ryan Hardie withdrew with a minor groin injury.
Gray is only contracted to the club until January and Rooney said he would discuss whether the striker can stay for longer.
“We’ve got a lot of games coming up between now and January and we will sit down, of course, and have a conversation on how we move forward,” said Rooney.
“You can see the quality he’s got and the importance he’s having on the team, so I’m sure before January there’ll be conversations in place and we’ll see where they get to.”