Santi Cazorla to Leave Villarreal at the End of the Season

Villarreal have confirmed that Santi Cazorla will depart the club at the end of the season, and Sunday's game against Eibar will be his final match for the Yellow Submarine.

The playmaker is in his third spell with the Villarreal, having made a remarkable comeback to return on the football pitch after suffering a serious injury.

Cazorla sustained an achilles injury while at Arsenal in October 2016, but standard rehabilitation and treatment did not prove effective; the Spaniard required eight separate operations on the injury and there were fears that he would not be able to walk again, or that he may lose the affected leg.

However, he returned to Villarreal and made his first appearance of his third spell in July 2018 - 636 days since he had last stepped foot on a football pitch.

The club confirmed on their official Twitter account that Cazorla, alongside retiring teammate Bruno Soriano, with leave after their final game of the season against Eibar on Sunday.

"Villarreal have given me everything," Cazorla said. "When I was 18, they backed me; a guy from Oviedo who practically nobody knew.

"It makes it even more special, being with Bruno until the very last day when we've experienced almost everything at this club together."

"I hope like the last time I left it's not a definite good bye, but we'll meet again."

Cazorla began his senior career with the club after signing from Oviedo in 2003. He spent the 2006/07 season with Recreativo de Huelva, before Villarreal re-signed him the following summer.

After four years with the Yellow Submarine, the 35-year-old moved to Malaga for a season, before joining Arsenal in 2012.

Cazorla signed for Villarreal for a third time in 2018, and the club helped him to build him back up after his career-threatening achilles injury. The midfielder has been an integral part of Villarreal's bid for European football this season, featuring 34 times in La Liga and providing 11 goals and nine assists.