Post Script. As expected he finally left the club at the end of the season to return to France. At least Madrid recovered most if not all of their investment, with Paris Saint Germain reportedly paying 5.6 billion Pesetas for him. Let's hope he is happier back home.

28.05. Took part in Wednesday's Champions League final in Paris and had a good game. Has been called up by France for the Euro 2000 championship.

21.05. Started match against Valladolid but had poor game. Went off with a knee injury in the second half, but should be fit for the Champions League final.

14.05. Has finally come good, scoring the vital away goal at Bayern Munich to put his team through to the Champions League final. Congratulated by all the players for his headed goal, (apparently the first of his professional career), he looks set to stay. Rounded off his best week at the club with another goal in the match against Betis.

07.05. Finally started to pay off part of his transfer fee with an early goal in the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. Was embraced by his team-mates after scoring and the crowd chanted his name, so seems to have been pardoned for the time being. Played 80 minutes in that match and the full 90 against Alavés, this time without much luck.

30.04. Missed out on the cup semi-final as he injured himself playing football in his back garden with his brother. Started the match against Espanyol in the league with Morientes out injured, and made the pass for the first goal.

23.04. Came on twice as substitute, twenty minutes from the end against Manchester United for Morientes, and in the second half against Racing for Savio. Made the goal for McManaman with a cross from the right wing.

16.04. Came on as substitute against Espanyol in the cup, and was booed and whistled by most of his own crowd. Brought a good save from Cavallero with a long shot. Substitute again against Zaragoza, and won a penalty near the end to give his side an important victory.

09.04. Returned to training last Monday to find his locker had been reallocated to Aganzo. His brother Didier had apparently emptied it when he went awol, and the players 'awarded' it to the young striker. Anelka was given another one in the corner of the dressing room. Everyone is trying to play it cool, although the rest of the squad resent his attitude and the fact that he didn't apologise to them, and for example Redondo's tackles on the training ground were less than friendly. His only friends are the French speakers, especially Geremi and to a lesser extent Karembeu. He expects to get straight back in the side, although Del Bosque intends to bring him back slowly. This Sunday he was included in the squad, but remained on the bench.

02.04. Made a public apology in spanish to the club and supporters, and the club decided to give him a last chance. The 60 million Peseta fine (suspension of salary for 45 days) stands, but he has been allowed back into training. He will however train alone for a week, and will rejoin the squad on Wednesday after the Champions League game against Manchester United the day before. It remains to be seen whether Hierro and company accept him back so easily.

26.03. Came back from Paris and was given permission to start training again. The 45 day ban is still however in place.

19.03. Anelka has been headline news all week. The club eventually decided to suspend him without pay for 45 days, and banned him from entering their facilities. The move could cost the player around 70 million Pesetas in salary and bonuses. Later in the week he sent a letter asking to be allowed to train with the rest of the players. Fans at the recent matches have made it clear they want him to go, with chants and posters making their opinion clear. Rumours are that he may be loaned or transferred to Marseille.

12.03. The news of the week was Anelka's refusal to train on Friday and Saturday. He claimed that players were deliberately withholding the ball from him, and that the manager and players (naming Hierro) were talking behind his back. He added that he did not feel part of the team, and would give back all the money he earned to go back to France to get away from the pressure. The club responded by suspending him without pay pending an enquiry. Officials said that it is currently unlikely that he will play for Madrid again after a series of such incidents. However on Sunday evening the player announced that he will return to training after receiving an invitation from Del Bosque.

08.03. Came on for the last quarter of the match against Bayern Munich.

05.03. Played 90 minutes in the Champions League side against Bayern Munich without much success, and another 85 minutes on Saturday against Oviedo. His only shot hit the corner flag and he was replaced by Zárate.

27.02. Returned for the match against Barcelona, started the match and scored his first league goal.

20.02. Still not sure if he will be fit for the Barcelona game, but currently unlikely that Del Bosque will risk him.

06.02. Has apparently turned to Islam, and wants to be known as Bilal from now on after the first slave to be liberated by Mohammed. On the sporting front, he is recovering well and could be fit for the game against Barcelona at the end of this month.

30.01. There was a small fire in his flat during the week, and he and his brother got into an argument with television reporters from Antenna Tres who turned up on the scene. In the end the reporters reported the brothers to the police for aggression and theft (they took cameras off them), and they were visited by the forces of order, who recovered the equipment. The case comes up next week.

23.01. The operation on his knee was successful and he is expected to be fit again in around two months.

11.01. Incredibly unlucky in Brazil. Scored the first goal for Madrid in the first match, his first official goal for the club. Shone in the second game at last, scoring both goals, but then missed a penalty eight minutes from time which would have given his team victory. Expected to do great things, but injured his knee badly in the third match and is expected to be out for the next three months. A shame, as he was finally coming good.

30.12. Scored in the game against a league all star side in a friendly match dedicated to the fight against drugs.

21.12. Came on for last ten minutes against Alavés.

18.12. Went with his brothers to see Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz to demand an explanation as to why he was not going to be in the starting line up this Saturday. Sanz was remarkably polite, but then his club has a big investment in the player. In the end he came on fifteen minutes from time and made a good impression.

16.12. Someone finally asked us to include him. As those of you who follow Spanish football will know, he was signed for a record fee of 5,500 million pesetas from Arsenal this season. However he has been a complete flop up to date, having played nine games in the league and several others in other competitions without scoring a single goal. He is described as having an attitude problem, failing to integrate with the rest of the squad, and on occasions claiming injuries which medical staff have not been able to confirm. Totally dominated by his brothers Didier and Claude who collected over two million Dollars for the transfer as his agents, Anelka prefers to spend his time with them when he has not got his head in a video game. Making Real Madrid a laughing stock, and needs to get his act together to demonstrate to the world his obvious talent.