IT was the mother of all predictions that still brings a tear to the eye of Marco Asensio two decades down the line.
A bold-as-brass prophecy from his biggest fan, before he was even at the baby-steps stage of a career which took him to the European summit.
And ultimate proof that mums DO know best — as a trophy cabinet packed with football’s most glittering prizes testifies.
If Aston Villa fans get their way, any more medals that the Spanish forward wins will be done in the claret and blue shirt of Unai Emery’s men.
For it has taken Asensio, 29, just three months to become a cult hero to Villa supporters, 18 games and nine starts after arriving on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.
He has eight goals already, all celebrated with a look to the heavens, in memory of the mum who once told Real Madrid’s president that Marco would be a Bernabeu superstar.
Asensio was only nine, yet she knew her son had a gift — and was quick to tell Florentino Perez in their chance meeting at Puerto Portals in Mallorca.
Maria and husband Gilberto had taken the family to see the luxury yachts in the marina and after spotting Perez on his boat, asked for a picture.
Yet before heading off, she told the Real guv’nor to look at the pint-sized kid next to her, as one day he would pull on the most famous white shirt in football.
While Perez simply smiled, Maria had no doubts. Neither did a man who was blown away from the day Asensio arrived at tiny Mallorcan club Platges de Calvia two years earlier.
Juan Pericas, a youth coach at the Spanish fifth-tier outfit, soon had the same conviction as Marco’s mum.
He still chuckles at what she said to Perez.
Pericas revealed: “They asked Florentino for a photo and then his mother said, ‘You see this little boy?
“‘He is my son Marco. One day he will play for Real Madrid and be very successful’.
“That’s why, the day that Marco signed for Real, he cried like a child. He remembered his mother’s premonition.
“He was seven when he joined us, an age when very few kids know what to do with the ball.
“But he played with his head up and always made the right decision.
“In his first season, he scored 64 goals and had 30 assists.
“That was a huge thing for someone so young to have those stats.”
Sadly, Maria never got to see her son at the Bernabeu, as she tragically passed away through cancer when he was just 15 and a youth player at Mallorca.
Almost immediately, he was playing two categories above his age group, standing out against boys older and stronger.
Before long, LaLiga’s big two were sniffing around — and when Real agreed to pay €4million in one hit for the 18-year-old, letting Mallorca keep him for the season, that swayed it.
Marco has told me many times his mother is still his source of inspiration and he plays every match in her memory.”
Juan Pericas on Marco Asensio’s late mother
Barcelona missed out as they wanted the fee in four instalments — and Asensio was on the road to three Champions League wins in nearly a decade.
And every golden moment was celebrated with a point to the heavens in tribute to the woman he says will always be his driving force.
Just as they were when he left for Paris a couple of seasons ago — and since moving to the Midlands in February.
Pericas added: “Marco has told me many times his mother is still his source of inspiration and he plays every match in her memory.
“She left an indelible impact and lives on through Marco.
“He has spoken many times of his desire to make her proud on every occasion.
“That’s why, each time Marco scores, he celebrates by looking up at the sky. Every goal is dedicated to Maria.”
Villa fans would love to see him bagging plenty more for them and they are urging Emery to pay the £12.5million or so that it would cost to make his move permanent this summer.
And Pericas is equally convinced that the two are a perfect fit.
He added: “Marco is loving it in England. If everything can be worked out, it would be a great move for both of them.”
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