MADRID: Real Madrid and Spain’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Iker Casillas has announced his retirement today (Tuesday) from professional football at the age of 39.
Iker Casillas helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup and two successive European Championships in 2008 and 2012. He made 725 appearances for Real Madrid, winning three Champions League titles and five La Liga crowns.
The 39-year-old spent the last five years of his career playing for Portuguese side Porto after his 25-year spell with Real Madrid ended in 2015. He made 156 appearances for the Portuguese side, winning two Primeira Liga titles and one Portuguese Cup.
The world-class goalkeeper suffered a heart attack in May last year. During his recovery, he was given a role on the club’s coaching staff in July 2019.
Casillas has been awarded the La Liga Best Goalkeeper gong twice. He has also won the World Cup Golden Glove in 2010 and was named Primeira Liga Best Goalkeeper for 2019.
While announcing his retirement on Twitter, he said, “Today is both one of the most important and most difficult days of my sporting life, the time to say goodbye has arrived.”
Lo importante es el camino que recorres y la gente que te acompaña, no el destino al que te lleva, porque eso con trabajo y esfuerzo, llega solo y creo que puedo decir, sin dudar, que ha sido el camino y el destino soñado #Grac1as pic.twitter.com/xb8ucs9REh
— Iker Casillas (@IkerCasillas) August 4, 2020
Real Madrid said in a statement, “The best goalkeeper in the history of Real Madrid and Spanish football joined us at the age of 9. He was formed here and defended our shirt for 25 years, becoming one of our most emblematic captains of all time.”
“Today one of the most important footballers in our 118 years of history calls it a day as a professional player, a player we love and admire, a goalkeeper who has made the Real Madrid legacy bigger with his work and exemplary behavior both on and off the pitch,” they added.
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