Nacho has told L'Equipe he would love to finish his career at Real Madrid after finally establishing himself at the Liga giants thanks to coach Zinedine Zidane's faith in him.
With centre-backs Pepe and Raphael Varane sidelined by injury, Nacho is set to line up in the Madrid back four in Tuesday's Champions League second leg with Bayern Munich.
The 27-year-old defender, who joined Madrid at 11 years old, had never previously featured at such an elevated stage of the competition having struggled for consistent playing time at the Bernabeu, making just 51 La Liga appearances in the four seasons prior to 2016-17.
The Spain international has played nearly half that many times in the current campaign alone after convincing Zidane he is worthy of a place in the side.
"It's this moment now. I have the trust of the coach and I feel very important for the squad," Nacho said when asked when the key moment of his career was. "It's what I have always wanted. Now that it's the case, I have to enjoy it as much as possible."
Diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 12 and told he would have to abandon his dreams of playing football professionally, Nacho has battled his way to the top against the odds.
Though a Madrid fan, the versatile defender admitted he had considered moving away from the Spanish capital, notably last summer when Roma were reportedly interested in signing him, only for his career to enjoy its current sudden upswing.
"I have already gone through periods of doubt, that's logical. Each summer you have temptations. But I have always been faithful to my ideas. Last summer, the coach, the club and myself all agreed that I would stay at Real for another year," said Nacho, whose contract runs through to 2020.
"I think it was the perfect decision. Given how the season has gone, I can say that I didn't make a mistake. I'm where I want to be, happy and as I often say, I want to finish my career at Real."