Iker Casillas Opens Up on Disappointing Exit From Real Madrid
By Tom Gott
Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has moved to bury the hatchet between himself and the club, despite admitting frustration with the way the club handled his departure.
An academy graduate at the Santiago Bernabéu, the legendary stopper managed to make 725 appearances in all competitions, winning five La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues. However, despite his years of service, he found himself quietly ushered out the door to Porto in 2015.
Speaking at the TELMEX Telcel Foundation (via Marca), Casillas confessed that while he does not enjoy seeing photos of himself in tears as he read his farewell statement five years ago, he can forgive Madrid for their unsentimental actions.
"We all made mistakes there, but we've learned from it," he said. "I don't like to see those pictures and I don't think it was good for anyone. I'm sure that someday we'll make up for that slip-up and we'll do good things to make people happy again."
A large part of Casillas' fall from grace came during José Mourinho's tenure at the Bernabéu, in which the goalkeeper was surprisingly dropped to the bench towards the end of the 2012/13 season. He remained there when Carlo Ancelotti arrived that summer, and it became clear that his time at the club was coming to an end.
Casillas was no stranger to being on the bench at that time, having been bumped out of the Spain national team by Vicente del Bosque. However, the former goalkeeper, who last played in the 2018/19 season, insisted that he found that easier to accept.
"The two situations were different," he began. One was justified in footballing terms and the other was something personal. We [Casillas and Del Bosque] got on well for a year and a half and the next year we had disagreements, but that was normal between the captain and the coach. It doesn't mean that you're more important than the coach, but you're going to end up having issues because you have to speak to him practically every day and the relationship starts to break down.
"José Mourinho thought that I wasn't at the same level as my teammate and, on top of that, our relationship wasn't very good, so it was easier for him to choose between one or the other. There are a lot of things that people don't see, but I have a good relationship with him. We've seen each other a few times since and we've had a nice chat.
"There are no hard feelings between us because both of us wanted the best for the team. I decided to not have much of a relationship with him because I didn't like a lot of the things I was seeing and he chose to pick another 'keeper.
"This experience made me much more mature, at the age of 33. You try to not cause any more controversy than there already was at the club. I wouldn't change anything, and I don't think I made a mistake."