Marco Asensio 'Worth €700M,' Florentino Perez Says After Rejecting PL Bid

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has said he turned down an offer of €150 million (£133 million) for Marco Asensio in the summer, as he believes the Spain international is worth every penny of his enormous buyout clause.

He told Mundo Deportivo's Cristina Cubero (h/t Joe Short of the Express): "If someone wants the Mallorcan, he is worth €700 million (£620 million)."

Perez said the offer came from a Premier League club, though he did not name the team in question.

Asensio, 22, has been a regular at the Santiago Bernabeu over the past two seasons, and he is perhaps the brightest prospect in the squad.

The Spaniard came off the bench during Wednesday's UEFA Champions League last-16 clash with Paris Saint-Germain, and he made a decisive impact despite featuring for just 11 minutes:

With the score level at 1-1 when he entered the match, he quickly set about making things happen for his side.

His first cross found its way to Cristiano Ronaldo via PSG goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, with the Portugal captain knocking home to make it 2-1. He then delivered the cross for Marcelo to wrap up the scoring.

The latter was his fifth assist of the season—the former does not count as an assist because of Areola's part in the move—and he has also netted eight goals in all competitions, putting him on course to match, if not surpass, the 10 he achieved last year.

Football writers David Cartlidge and Simon Harrison hailed his performance:

Asensio has made 34 appearances this season, but despite his talent, he has received relatively little game time in Real's most important fixtures.

His only start in the Champions League was against APOEL FC in the group stage, while he was restricted to late cameos against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in La Liga, as he was against PSG.

He would be a sensational addition to virtually any side, and he would likely start every match too. But as Perez's comments indicate, Real are well aware of the asset they have in their hands, even if he perhaps deserves a bigger role than he has thus far played.