A professional footballer, in the prime of his career, staying at a club that doesn't want him to, in order to play backup, in a position that he doesn't usually play, for half pay is the least likely scenario put forward in this whole thing.
While anything could happen, anyone pushing that as the most rational outcome has an issue with critical thinking.
You would have a point if 17m-19m weren't the reason behind this issue. That's where critical thinking is lacking when people keep ignoring that the issue is about a very large sum of money, more money than most professional players will see in their careers and more money than most top players make in two years.