In 1999 he set a then record fee when Real Madrid signed him for £22.3 and to date has commanded more than £85m in transfer fees.

On his retirement from football, he intends an acting career stating "I have a friend who's a producer, who makes lots of films. He recently did Asterix. So it's already agreed that I'm going to do other films. It helps to know actors and producers.

It's different to football and it's something I enjoy very much because there's no ball. I like pretending to be somebody else, it's fun."