When Barcelona slipped out of the Champions League quarter-finals to Juventus earlier this season, one Catalan sports newspaper asked the question most of the club's fans have been chewing over all season" That plaintive headline summed up just how much Makaay's reputation has grown over the course of a season during which he almost single-handedly drove Deportivo Coruna's brave, if ultimately unsuccessful, title challenge and once again led the side into the second phase of the Champions League.

Makaay arrived in Spain from Vitesse Arnhem as a speedy 22-year-old in 1997 and after two promising seasons with Tenerife he made his move to Deportivo.

He scored 22 league goals in 1999-2000 to lead the club to their first league title and bagged 16 more the following season. His relatively meagre total of 12 goals last term was down to a series of injury problems.

For years he has been established as one of the most reliable marksmen in the country, yet his profile has remained remarkably low, particularly in comparison with other Dutch strikers.

In Spain, Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy is revered as the Dutch goalscorer par excellence, Barcelona's Patrick Kluivert is perceived as having the greater all-round talent and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, formerly of Atletico Madrid, is warmly remembered as being more charismatic on and off the field.

Makaay has outplayed all of them this season, however, to establish himself as the leading striker not only in Spain but in Europe as a whole.

"PICHICHI" AWARD

His 29 league goals have easily been enough to give him the "pichichi", or leading marksman, award in Spain, with Nihat Kahveci of Real Sociedad and Ronaldo of Real Madrid his nearest challengers with 23 apiece.

Makaay's tally also saw him scoop the Golden Shoe award, with his 29 goals in Spain worth more than Mateja Kezman's 35 for PSV Eindhoven in the weaker Dutch league.

He also scored nine goals in the Champions League, including a memorable hat-trick in a 3-2 victory away to Bayern Munich in the first stage.

When his fellow Deportivo strikers Diego Tristan and Albert Luque were injured earlier this year, Makaay led the line for his club on his own.

His tireless running off the ball and keen eye for goal kept Deportivo in with a chance of the title right up until the penultimate weekend of the season and brought him high praise from coaches, commentators and fellow professionals.

"He's the best in the world when it comes to making those diagonal runs," said Barcelona's then coach Radomir Antic, who was immediately proved right as Makaay scored twice in a match-winning performance at the Nou Camp.

Deportivo will do their best to persuade him to stay but Makaay is considering offers from Barcelona and Bayern Munich and he seems determined to leave after presenting his team mates with replicas of the Golden Shoe award, apparently as a farewell gesture.

His departure would be a huge loss to Deportivo but he has contributed so much to the side in the past four seasons that few would begrudge him a move to a club with a higher profile.