By Chris Wright
Iker Casillas is currently in the midst of sobbing his way through a massively emotional farewell press conference at the Bernabeu after his slightly surprising move to Porto was confirmed by Real Madrid yesterday.
Casillas is leaving Real after 25 years of service came to end amid a general miasma of acrimony once the veteran began losing his grip on his long-held No.1 spot over the past couple of seasons.
Indeed, the 34-year-old goalkeeper’s mother, Mari Carmen, is beside herself with rage at the way her son has been treated by the only club he’s ever known, complaining to El Mundo that her little baby Hercules is far too good for the likes of Porto and that she’d even prefer to see him in a Barcelona shirt than that of the Portuguese side.
“Porto is like a Segunda B (Spanish third tier) team for someone like Iker. A world champion can’t finish his career in Porto.”
“He could have finished where he was wanted, and I wouldn’t have minded if it was Barça because they are gentlemen.”
Mari also told the paper that she believes her son has been the victim of a “smear campaign” devised by Florentino Perez, who is she still blames for the persistence of the rumours that Casillas operated as mole in the Real Madrid dressing room during Jose Mourinho’s tenure.
“This president has never loved him because he is short. He likes height. He was always obsessed with signing Buffon.”
“Iker has put up with a great deal, he has suffered psychological pressure and they treated him differently to other players.
“I have watched him suffer for many years. It is Florentino who is pushing him out because he wanted to end his career at Real Madrid.”
Mum, you’re embarrassing me in front of my friends. Shuddup, shuddup, shuddup!
Seriously, initially we didn’t think we’d ever see Iker Casillas leave Real Madrid. Then, we never thought we’d see him leave Real Madrid as anything other than a nailed-on club legend.
How it’s all ended; the jeers, the animosity, the squabbling, the bitter tears? Well, it just makes us sad way down in the pit of our soul.
It was never meant to be this way.