It’s rare to see anything meaningful come out of an interview when a player is asked about transfer rumours that involve them.
Usually, you’ll just get the media trained answer where they state that they aren’t focussed on that just now and will worry about it when the time comes, so it is a surprise if a player goes on the record either way.
Obviously it can cause major problems if a star player states they want to leave, but it’s also interesting if they say they want to stick around as that can also come back to bit them.
Villarreal defender Pau Torres has been heavily linked with a move to Man United this summer, but these comments do make it sounds like he plans on going nowhere next season:
#MUFC target Pau Torres talking to @MarioCortegana: “I have a contract at Villarreal, I just won the first title, we've qualified for the CL & it's something that excites me. Now I'm focused on the Euro. Then the Super Cup & nice things will come, so I'm totally calm."
— Charlotte Duncker (@CharDuncker) June 22, 2021
In many ways it does make sense as he’ll have Champions League football to look forward to and the feeling at the club will be great so he should want to stick around and enjoy the rewards from a great campaign.
Perhaps things could be different next summer if Villarreal don’t kick on and it could then become a natural time to move on, but he’ll also have an eye on the World Cup and players don’t tend to move the summer before a major international tournament.
The rumours are unlikely to go away, but that suggests it will be a surprise if he does leave in the summer.