He explained to CNN Portugal that he was contacted yesterday, at "around 10pm". "I was surprised, initially I thought it was a joke (...). I thought it was a prank", he said.

José stated that he got "very anxious" because he himself had played the day before and "could" be the winner. However, he said he was "very happy" to have been the person to issue the ticket.

"I wish the player a lot of happiness, and good health. In this case, I think there will be no shortage of money", he joked.

According to the official website of Jogos Santa Casa, there was a player in Portugal who matched the five numbers and two stars and won the Euromillions jackpot, worth €26,956,990.00.