Iker Casillas has admitted that he did consider leaving Real Madrid during a difficult five months in which he had to ‘bite his tongue on several occasions’.
A difficult relationship with Jose Mourinho saw the 32-year-old’s return in March to full fitness after surgery on a fractured hand result in him spend the rest of the season on the bench.
It was a situation that had the goalkeeper consider his future, as he revealed this week.
“Yes of course. In my case, of course I did, but my desire and my dream was to stay here,” Casillas commented in conversation with Cope.
“For me this is the best club and I am happy to be here, in my house, in Madrid, with my people and my family.
“It is best to be at home, but you can still have a bad day, a sad day, and have times of difficulty in which you come to think that your best option is to leave.
“If I had felt humiliated then that is when I would have left.
“In the dressing room I've felt the appreciation of 100 per cent of the players.
“I have managed to keep my composure and always look in favour of Real Madrid, but this has been the worst year of my life because I got injured.
“I’ve never suffered an injury as big as this. It's tough to be out for four months and even more so for me after playing for 14 years.
“I've learned to appreciate and savour it more when I play. I enjoy every game as if it were my last.
“What hurts the most is that we didn't manage to win anything.
“I've bitten my tongue on several occasions for the good of the club. I'm not going to change my relationship with the press. You've seen me grow, and vice versa.
“Mourinho? He has gone. It is best to look to the future with ambition. What is important is that Real Madrid return to where they belong and win titles.
“I think that Ancelotti is a wise move. He has won many titles with every club he has been at and there is no better choice than him.”
It was rumoured that Alvaro Arbeloa’s recent comments about his teammates was a critical reference to Casillas.
“He is a good kid. With Alvaro I have a normal relationship, one that is friendly, and there is no getting around it.
“It sells more to say that there is a bad relationship, but there isn’t. I have already said that some of the things Alvaro said were correct.”
