QPR thought things would quieten down since Joey Barton left

QPR will officially unveil their new £9million midfielder from Real Madrid on Tuesday – and what could follow promises to be just as revealing as the maverick he has been brought in to replace. The 25-year-old Spaniard doesn’t do ‘in your face’ confrontation like Barton. But the words and actions of a player they call ‘The Pirate’ in Spain look set to blow some Premier League pundits out of the water. Granero, an U21 international who is also deep into studying psychology, holds nothing back on a whole range of issues. For instance he: Recites poetry with his pants off in front of his team-mates. “Making fun of yourself makes you more human and helps others get closer to you. A therapy that allows you to get closer to your team-mates by making fun of yourself is important,” he claims.

This type of footballer can’t be any other way Esteban Granero

Criticises parents who think footballers should be role models for their children. “Parents should educate their children,” he claimed during a revealing three-part interview with Jot Down magazine. “You can’t expect footballers to play well and behave in an exemplary way while thinking about children.” Backs rebels like Barton and Mario Balotelli for what they bring to the game rather than how they behave. “This type of footballer can’t be any other way,” he said. “It was the same with George Best or Maradona. Should they have taken better care of themselves? For what reason? Enjoy what you see, what you have in front of you. End of story.”

Refuses to be celebrity on or off the field. “I’m a footballer, okay? Footballers dedicate themselves to playing football and my job is to play football and to play it well,” says Granero, who is also a leading supporter of trade union rights for footballers. Hails under-fire former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo as “one of the most humble guys I know’’. He added: ‘‘Cristiano is good and he knows it. He’s that good but wants more, and shows it in each training session, each game. That’s also humility. When I hear people say that Cristiano is not humble, I just laugh.” Salutes former manager Jose Mourinho as “a coach who has won everything, who wants to continue winning’’. He added: ‘‘He makes you be at 100 per cent every day of the year. And the ambitious footballer is grateful for that.”