MADRID, July 16 -- Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo this Saturday said he was delighted to know he will be able to remain at the club.
Negredo is a product of the Real Madrid youth system and Real Madrid had until midnight on Friday night to take up a buyback option that was included in the deal that took Negredo to Sevilla two years ago.
There had been some speculation that Madrid would take up that option on the striker, who scored 20 league goals last season, but Saturday arrived with no move from the Spanish giants, much to Negredo's relief.
"To tell the truth, I was in bed and asleep not long after 11 o'clock, although I did get a few messages which woke me up," joked the striker
"I am happy that this whole soap opera is over and that I can now say I am a 100 percent Sevilla player. I was beforehand, but there was always a chance Madrid would take me back, now it is clear that I will stay at Sevilla," continued Negredo in a press conference this Saturday.
The striker's goals helped Sevilla to finish fifth in the Primera Liga last season and helped him regain his place in the Spanish national squad.
"I always felt as if I was an important part of the project, the club made a big effort to bring me there and there is mutual confidence between us. Everything has worked out well: the club wanted me to stay and I wanted to stay at the club."