Gabriel Jesus is already piecing together plans for life away from Manchester City, with the Brazilian striker eager to write another “chapter” at Palmeiras before hanging up his boots.
The 23-year-old started his professional career on the books of the newly-crowned Copa Libertadores winners and took in 83 appearances for the club, scoring 28 goals.
Those efforts were enough to earn him a big-money move to England, with City swooping for his services in 2016 – as Jesus readied himself for Olympic duty that would deliver gold medal glory.
A switch to the Etihad Stadium was delayed until January 2017, allowing the promising frontman to see out a domestic season in his homeland, and a retracing of those steps is in the pipeline.
“I had been a professional for only two seasons in Brazil,” Jesus told Yellow and Green Football of his career path.
“At the Olympics, when the deal came through, I had this feeling of leaving a beautiful story behind – of giving something back to Palmeiras, you know? The club invested so much in me and I wanted them to feel all the love that I still have in return.
“So, I asked to be with them until the end of the Brazilian season because I wanted to be a Brasileirao champion with that squad, with my friends.
“To be honest, I feel that this was just one chapter of my story with Palmeiras. There will be more in the future.”
For now, Jesus is focused on being the best striker he can be at City.
He has 74 goals for the club through 171 appearances, but only seven of those efforts have come this season and the South American admits that he needs to work on his finishing.
Jesus added, with Sergio Aguero still out of action for the Blues: “I never imagined all these changes would occur in just four years.
“I always believed in myself, in my talent and my work ethic, because I am very dedicated. It was not the World Cup that I dreamt of [in Russia], but experiencing it was still good.
“It makes me want to give my best in every game here in Manchester, because I want to be called up by Tite for the Selecao’s next games, to be in the 2022 squad and to make it better and very different from what happened in 2018.
“I feel I am playing well, helping those around me in matches, but I admit that I need to improve my finishing. Sometimes I make a pass when I should shoot instead, but there is room to grow and time to learn.”