The 23-year-old joins from Real where he had found first-team opportunities hard to come by and, following a spending spree this summer that has seen the capital club sign the likes of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, he was expected to fall further down the pecking order.
And rumours from Spain claim they want highly-rated Xisco, who is still popular on the Spanish mainland ... if not on Tyneside.
Xisco’s arrival at St James’s Park is the stuff of legend.
Signed ahead of the close of last summer’s transfer window, the Mallorcan – now 23 – arrived to discover that manager Kevin Keegan claimed to have had no knowledge of the deal.
Within hours, Keegan had walked out of St James’s Park, prompting a legal battle with the club which remains unresolved.
Xisco stayed on, but was laid low by injuries after a couple of unimpressive early showings, and made only four first-team starts all season.
Now, with United keen to slash their wage bill as they look for a buyer, Xisco is resigned to moving on.