Jose Luis Lopez has ended his loan spell with Melbourne Victory. The Costa Rican midfielder has decided to return home to Deportivo Saprissa with the goal of being selected for Costa Rica's national team ahead of next year's World Cup.

"My time here was perfect, from the first time I got here, I enjoyed every moment on and off the pitch," Lopez said.

"I'm looking forward to going back, not because I want to, but because I need to.

"I need to get to the World Cup."

Victory operations manager Gary Cole said Lopez would be sadly missed but the club wished him all the best.

"Jose has been fantastic to deal with and returns to Costa Rica with our full blessing," Cole said.

"He is a model professional both on and off the field and it was great to have him as part of Melbourne Victory.

"He needs to be playing regularly and has a desire to play at the World Cup and we don't want to stand in his way of achieving that."