Takufusa Kubo has made Real Mallorca the most popular club in Japan.
On-loan from Real Madrid this season, the Japan international has generated huge interest in Mallorca and the LaLiga in his native Japan. That's according to Ivan Codina, the LaLiga's prime manager in Japan. Codina is tasked in Japan to raise the profile of the LaLiga and Spanish football, along with seeking out commercial opportunities for both the competition and individual clubs.
And assisting in his efforts has been Kubo and the impact the 19 year-old has made in his homeland while on-loan with Mallorca.
LaLiga Japan chief Codina told Cadena SER via AS: "The impact has been very great.
"We are talking that in the last three years, LaLiga had grown in the Japanese market and in the latter, with the Kubo effect, we have even managed to move to the Premier League level "
"This gives you an idea of the impact he really has. It is very similar to the one we have with Wu Lei and Espanyol in China "
With Kubo seeing plenty of action for Mallorca, Codina also revealed eight of the ten most watched games of the LaLiga this season has featured the island club.
He continued: "At a commercial level we are talking about a market that has enormous potential, with many world-leading companies in its sector and that makes them potential sponsors for LaLiga at some point "
"That is also very important for us when doing a search for business opportunities."
Kubo signed for Real Madrid last summer from FC Tokyo before being loaned to Mallorca for the season. At Tokyo, Kubo made his first team debut and also scored his first goal at 15 years of age - a record for the J-League.