Saul Niguez is hopeful that 2017 will be an even better year for Atletico Madrid than 2016 was.
The Atletico attacker has been reminiscing on a fine 12 months for Diego Simeone's side as La Liga -along with a host of other top European leagues - takes its annual winter break over the festive period.
Atletico finished runners-up to city rivals Real in the Champions League final - a 1-1 draw that eventually saw Atletico's hearts broken thanks to a 5-3 penalty shootout defeat - while they also finished third in Spain's top flight, just three points off eventual champions Barcelona.
Los Rojiblancos have struggled to hit those heights so far this term, with Simeone's men currently nine points off the pace for the title as they languish in sixth position.
Saul himself has notched just three goals and two assists in 21 appearances as a number of Atletico's first-team squad have struggled for form. However, the forward believes the new year will bring better times for Atletico, as well as a first piece of silverware since the Spanish Super Cup was won during the 2014/15 season.
In quotes published by FourFourTwo, the 22-year-old said: "We could have won some titles that we fought for, but it's been a very good year for us. We hope that 2017 is better."
ïŽ' @saulniguez "It has been a very good year and we hope that
2017 is better"
➡� https://t.co/wY6RVZQC0r #GoAtleti #AtletiGuijuelo #KingsCup pic.twitter.com/9uEN4KFvUS
Atletico finished off 2016 with a 4-1 victory over minnows CD Guijelo in the Copa del Rey intermediate stage - a result that saw them thrash their opponents 10-1 across the two-legged tie.
Saul and his teammates return to action on January 7 with an away trip to SC Eibar in the league, before they host Real Betis at the Vicente Calderon stadium seven days later.
Overall, Niguez has played 116 times for Atletico, scoring on 16 occasions and notching eight assists.
Read more from Tom Power by following him on Twitter!