Eventually, the Board, including Florentino Pérez, relented, declaring that a "man like that would always have a place in my club", adding that "McManaman is in now in the team because his behaviour has been in accordance with the true values of the club". Towards the end of the 2001–02 season, former Madrid striker Emilio Butragueño also added: "McManaman is a gentleman, an excellent player and very popular." Johan Cruyff, meanwhile, described McManaman at the time as the most useful player in the "Galácticos" because he was "El socio del todos" or "everyone's best partner on the pitch". McManaman's partnership role functioned as one of a "perpetual motion style (that) moved defenders out of position and allowed the (Galatico) superstars to flourish".