If Nacho Novo hits the winning goal in Wednesday's UEFA Cup final, then he might just be invited to name his own terms for his next Rangers contract.
The Porsche-driving Spaniard has been rewarded handsomely over the course of his Rangers career but he could have pocketed Frank Lampard's Chelsea wages this season and still offered value for money to the Light Blues.
Just where would Rangers be right now without Novo's goals? The obvious answer is that they would have seen their European campaign halted long ago, and Manchester would not be in the midst of a light blue invasion ahead of the clash with Zenit St Petersburg.
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Novo's 16 goals this season have been as valuable as, maybe, they have been unexpected.
He has outscored summer signings Daniel Cousin and Jean-Claude Darcheville, and Saturday's stunning double against Dundee United gave manager Walter Smith a major selection poser to carry south of the border.
Recent dynamic performances have shown he is not feeling the strain which has affected some notable team-mates.
And it must have been sweet music to his ears to hear Smith is considering whether the conservative but brilliantly devised tactics, which have carried Rangers all the way to the final, might not be quite right for a winner-takes-all showpiece occasion.
However as recently as December, the enigmatic striker feared his Ibrox spell was coming towards its end when Rangers tabled just a one-year extension to his contract.
"If it was down to me I would stay here until my career is over but it's not," said the crowd favourite.
"If I stay I'll be happy and if I don't at least I will have fantastic memories."
He stayed. Smith made it his business to be sure of retaining the Spaniard, and the one-year offer was doubled.
The chirpy nature of the man whose passport shows the name Ignacio Javier Gomez Novo was terrific for dressing-room morale, his passion for Rangers remains a match for the most ardent fan, and Smith saw him as a vital component of a squad which still required some knitting together after last summer's spending spree.
"He wants to play for Rangers," Smith said. "He wants to stay. He's popular with everyone here.
"I'm delighted to have him for the next couple of years anyway. He's always contributed since I came here. He's got a terrific attitude."
Novo was delighted.
"I just want to win titles here," he said.
"I think there is a lot of me to give to everybody and I will try to do my best."
Back then, Rangers were coming off the disappointment of their Champions League exit, and dropping into the UEFA Cup was little consolation for many.
Novo was relishing the challenge though and he provided a typical rallying call as Rangers approached the last 32.
Daunted? Not Novo. He was already plotting the route to Eastlands.
"There will be top teams in there," he said. "But in my opinion as a Rangers player that's us as well.
"Teams need to be scared of us as well, it's a massive club and it's been doing really well.
"I think the team has proved it can play against top teams."
Novo had kickstarted Rangers' European campaign by hitting the only goal of the Champions League qualifier against Red Star Belgrade, which took Smith's side into the group stages, bringing millions of pounds in revenue into the club.
Rangers could not quite reach the knock-out rounds, and the UEFA Cup was a distraction some observers thought they could live without as they challenged for a domestic treble.
When Rangers trailed 1-0 in Athens to Panathinaikos in the second leg of their UEFA Cup opener, some supporters may have accepted a graceful exit.
Novo's late equaliser, winning the tie on away goals for Rangers, was so rapturously celebrated by the former Dundee and Raith man though that it proved a catalyst for the whole campaign.
He played a part in victories over Werder Bremen and Sporting Lisbon, before, after 210 minutes of a goalless semi-final against Fiorentina, responsibility for taking the fifth Rangers penalty in the shoot-out against the Italians fell on his shoulders.
Novo of course rifled the spot-kick past Sebastien Frey as if there was never any doubt.
Smith will name a team he believes can beat Zenit on Wednesday evening, and if Novo is resigned to substitute duty then he has the character to accept it. It has become quite clear he would walk across hot coals for Smith.
But having become an emblem of the campaign for Rangers, at whatever stage he gets his chance the little man could be poised for another big contribution.
