Real Sociedad have confirmed the departure of Martin Odegaard to Manchester City ....but all is not as it seems.
The La Liga side announced Odegaard, 21, had joined City on a loan deal until the end of the season.
That raised plenty of eyebrows in Spain and Manchester, particularly because Odegaard is currently on loan at Sociedad from Real Madrid .
The Norwegian has impressed with Sociedad and has been tipped to return to the Bernabeu early ahead of a shot in the first team.
A Socidead statement read: "Real Sociedad have reached an agreement with Manchester City over the loan of Martin Ødegaard. The player is set to stay at Manchester City until the end of the season.
"The txuri urdin club wants to thank and offer recognition for the job done by Martin. He has shown great professionalism, dedication and loyalty to this club and we wish him well for the future."
Seems pretty legitimate, right?
Well the final line of the statement would suggest otherwise...
"We are forced to take this difficult decision in order to avoid possible media comments for the next six months. What a relief!"
Of course, it's not April Fool's Day but the Spanish do celebrate a similar version over the festive period.
Day of the Holy Innocents is observed on December 28 in Spain, where many newspapers and TV stations print joke stories rather than facts.
City don't appear to be in on the gag and are yet to respond but it's safe to say Odegaard won't be turning out at the Etihad for the remainder of the season.
