That chimes with all of the noises coming from the player's camp, which suggest he will remain at the club until June but then possibly move on then.

“He’s a great player. He is one of the best in the world and has now been awarded as such in Dubai [at the International Sports Conference]. By signing him when we did it was very high risk,” Miguel Angel Gil Marin told AS.

“Thank God that it went well. People doubted him and the amount that we had paid. Our trust in him has been proven. We spoke with him before he came, we were right in the player, as a professional and as a person.

“What about his future? The commitment to him is that at the end of the season we will decide what is best for both parties and we will help him to decide, he has earned the right to decide.

“I know that he is comfortable in our League, in our city and in our club.”