Mahamadou Diarra has played his way into staying at Real Madrid.

AS says the midfielder's outstanding late season form has convinced Real powerbrokers Ramon Calderon and Pedja Mijatovic to rule out selling him in the summer.

The U-turn over Diarra will not affect Real's decision to buy back Ruben de la Red from Getafe. The Spain international will compete with Diarra for the defensive midfielder's role in Bernd Schuster's team next season.