Santi Cazorla has informed Malaga that he would like to leave just 12 months after joining the Andalusian club.
According to Marca, the Spanish international has tired of the way the economic situation at the club is handled, with constant delays in paying players’ salaries, and he has told his representative to try to find him an exit route out of La Rosaleda.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas is understood to have registered an interest in the 27-year-old this week, although Real Madrid and Barcelona could also come into the equation, but Malaga will not make it easy for any prospective buyer.
Los Blanquiazules paid €22m for Cazorla last summer and he has a €40m rescission clause inserted into his contract, with sources close to Malaga insisting he would not be allowed to leave for less than that figure.
Cazorla was one of the players, alongside Salomon Rondon, Joris Mathijsen and the retired Ruud van Nistelrooy, who denounced Malaga to the Spanish Professional Footballers Association for non-payment of wages earlier this week – a complaint that was subsequently retracted – and his departure would come as a severe blow to boss Manuel Pellegrini as the club enters its first-ever Champions League campaign next season.