Alvaro Odriozola has revealed the reasons behind his Real Madrid exit and how it came about.
Odriozola has been at Real Madrid since his 2018 move from Real Sociedad, signing for around €30 million, but he hasn’t manage to nail down a starting spot.
The full-back is now 25 years of age, and at this stage of his career, he needs regular football.
It’s for that reason he joined Fiorentina on a season-long loan deal this season, and he is now focused on matters in Italy for the time being.
But it was a decision he took on his own, with Carlo Ancelotti willing for him to stick around and play a part, however small.
“It was very simple,” Odriozola said of the move in an interview with Diario AS, “As it was two weeks away from the most important moment of pre-season, I spoke with Carlo maybe a week before the market closed.
“I said that I wanted my quality to be valued, my professionalism.
“I felt a lot of love for Ancelotti, I always admired him as a coach and a person.
“He told me that if I wanted to stay, it wouldn’t be a problem, that if I wanted to leave also.
“But he was clear that I wasn’t going to play 30 games and that if I left I would return in June.
“So, I decided to come (to Italy), it was my decision. In no moment did he push me to make the decision, nor Real Madrid.
“It was my decision because I I believe that I needed to come here to play 30 games and, over all, to grow as a footballer. Now I hope to triumph in Italy and return to the Los Blancos home.”
Had Odriozola stuck around, he might have featured regularly in the early part of the season given Dani Carvajal’s injury troubles.
Though, over the course of the season, he was likely to see regular action, and he has already become a regular at Fiorentina, making nine Serie A appearances.
