Casillas from Real Madrid to Porto

Giggsy11

It's officially done and this thread is not about the transfer but how he was treated by Madrid during his tenure.

They are the biggest and most glamorous club but when you see how their Legend who has been there for 25 years was treated, it's just begs the question, why players are so desperate to join them. Ozil, Di Maria, Ramos also suffered similar fate with Madrid friendly media but what Casillas experienced was worse.

His send off was a complete non event. No single player, no Perez or even a single director in the room. Just journalists who just sat there and listened to his farewell speech.

Sid Lowe's take on the matter.

Perhaps the best demonstration of that was this: there was something telling and uncomfortably fitting about the way it ended. On a Sunday morning, in an empty stadium, no trophies, no videos, no embrace. Nobody, in fact.

Casillas has played 725 games for Madrid and has won every trophy there is: winner of three European Cups and five league titles, as well as two European Championships and the World Cup with Spain. The club captain, he has been there for quarter of a century and had intended to be there his entire life. But Madrid did not want him and did not wave him off. He came in on his own, sat on his own and left on his own. His former team-mates were on a plane to Australia, president Florentino Pérez was not present and no director accompanied him. There were none even in the room. There were no fans in the stadium, either, although a few had gathered outside.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jul/12/iker-casillas-real-madrid-la-liga-porto

Whatever was the issue, it was such a sad ending for him. Compare that with Xavi, Gerrard's send offs, it's such a poor reflection on the club. Deserved much better IMO.

Juan8

I don't get why every player is so desperate to go to them myself, In the last 10 years they haven't even been that successful either, The way they've treated Casillas is a disgrace

RayCon

wow - thats piss poor. Reflects very badly on Madrid.

kfallon

Apparently they unfollowed him on Twitter too shortly after the press conference!

Can't stand Real or Barca tbh, both shíthouses imo!

rob316

Its not a club its a circus and Perez is the ringmaster. The fans of the club are a disgrace too.

Iker has been poor for a good while and his time I'd up but its disgusting how they have treated him.

brevity

https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/620500039681638400

eagle eye

Horrible is the only way to describe that from Real Madrid. Casillas is a Spanish and Real Madrid Legend and to treat him that way is just beyond belief.


Real Madrid
La Liga: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12
Copa del Rey: 2010–11, 2013–14
Supercopa de España: 2001, 2003, 2008, 2012
UEFA Champions League: 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2013–14
UEFA Super Cup: 2002, 2014
FIFA Club World Cup: 2014
Intercontinental Cup: 2002
Country
Spain
FIFA World Cup: 2010
UEFA European Championship: 2008, 2012
Individual
Bravo Award: 2000
La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2000
La Liga Best Goalkeeper: 2009, 2012
BBVA Fair Play award: 2012–13
Zamora Trophy: 2007–08
Best European Goalkeeper: 2010
IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
FIFA FIFPro World XI: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
FIFA World Cup Golden Glove: 2010
FIFA World Cup Dream Team: 2010
UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 2008, 2012
UEFA Team of the Year: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
ESM Team of the Year: 2008

Bohrio

kfallon wrote: »

Apparently they unfollowed him on Twitter too shortly after the press conference!

Can't stand Real or Barca tbh, both shíthouses imo!

You can't really complain of Barca though, they did a great job with Xavi's farewell as well as Pujols.

Madrid for some reason seem to lack that, Raul left unnoticed and he was literally kicked out, same as other legends last one being Casillas.

It is a business for Flo in the end!

Sad

anncoates

A club with zero class.

Guy:Incognito

Maybe hes a prick and no one likes him?:)

Muff_Daddy

I wish I was the best player in the world, just so I could say, No Real Madrid and Barcelona, I do NOT want to play for you!

CSF

Muff_Daddy wrote: »

I wish I was the best player in the world, just so I could say, No Real Madrid and Barcelona, I do NOT want to play for you!

And yet if you were, you probably wouldn't.

brevity

https://twitter.com/UberFootbalI/status/620541001686470656

Pretty rough.

kfallon

Bohrio wrote: »

You can't really complain of Barca though, they did a great job with Xavi's farewell as well as Pujols.

Oh I agree on that, it's other reasons I can't stand them!

kingtiger

Perez is known as "the cancer of Madrid" by most supporters of Real

they cant stand the guy as he is turning the club into a circus

Muff_Daddy

CSF wrote: »

And yet if you were, you probably wouldn't.

Alas, the allure of playing for one of Spain's big two might prove too much. It would certainly 'turn my head' at least.

CSF

Muff_Daddy wrote: »

Alas, the allure of playing for one of Spain's big two might prove too much. It would certainly 'turn my head' at least.

For a boy of 12/13 who knows he has all the potential in the world, nothing could be more of a dream than winning Ballon D'ors and Champions Leagues, those are the 2 best places to do it.

As a 28 year old man, who would lose in a race of the pitch with Casillas, with a head-start from the halfway line, I'd happily settle for the winning goal for Shelbourne in a LOI First Division Playoff Final. No Real or Barca required here

Dots1982

There is definitely another way of viewing Casillas. He has been sh*t for two years yet the club stood by him.

I'm sure Real wanted a smooth transition to De Gea as their No. 1 and felt the time was right for a parting of the ways (truth be told that time had come a year or so previously). Yet Casillas came out and said he wanted to stay and fight for his place. The fans are booing you even though you are a legend...have a little self-respect.

They gave Casillas the opportunity to leave with diginity which he threw back in their face and now his final few days were spent arguing over money.

He has been captain of RM when their dressing room is rife with division which is so bad its clearly visible on the pitch. This doesn't say much for his leadership skills.

He comes across as a poor character, blanking ex team-mates such as Torres after the Cl QF vs Athletico. Also his constant plotting against Mourinho leaking his teams to the press reflect badly on him but this seems to be forgotten about now.

He's still clinging on to Spain's no 1 jersey after a sh*t World cup. Del Bosque being too weak & loyal to Madrid to drop him. Hopefully the time comes now as with De Gea in goals I would consider Spain favourites for the Euros.

Very easy for people to get misty-eyed about Casillas and say Madrid have treated him badly but the truth as I see it is that he is a poisonous presence in the dressing room and led to him alienating practically everyone at the club.

Yet some people are suckers for a grown man shedding tears for not getting what he wanted.

Why Porto have bought him is beyond me.

LuckyLloyd

Strong post Dots

Corholio

Dots1982 wrote: »

There is definitely another way of viewing Casillas. He has been sh*t for two years yet the club stood by him.

I'm sure Real wanted a smooth transition to De Gea as their No. 1 and felt the time was right for a parting of the ways (truth be told that time had come a year or so previously). Yet Casillas came out and said he wanted to stay and fight for his place. The fans are booing you even though you are a legend...have a little self-respect.

They gave Casillas the opportunity to leave with diginity which he threw back in their face and now his final few days were spent arguing over money.

He has been captain of RM when their dressing room is rife with division which is so bad its clearly visible on the pitch. This doesn't say much for his leadership skills.

He comes across as a poor character, blanking ex team-mates such as Torres after the Cl QF vs Athletico. Also his constant plotting against Mourinho leaking his teams to the press reflect badly on him but this seems to be forgotten about now.

He's still clinging on to Spain's no 1 jersey after a sh*t World cup. Del Bosque being too weak & loyal to Madrid to drop him. Hopefully the time comes now as with De Gea in goals I would consider Spain favourites for the Euros.

Very easy for people to get misty-eyed about Casillas and say Madrid have treated him badly but the truth as I see it is that he is a poisonous presence in the dressing room and led to him alienating practically everyone at the club.

Yet some people are suckers for a grown man shedding tears for not getting what he wanted.

Why Porto have bought him is beyond me.

I think its very strong towards Casillas and not deserved imo, however I agree with the bones of it. Casillas has been off form for quite a while now and it's still been a mistake that they sold Lopes, who was outperforming him by quite a bit. All this stuff about the fans booing him, sections did but when people condemn it they act as if all the Real fans were bad eggs doing it when the fact was it was a very small minority, most Real fans have come out and been very gracious towards him as a club legend and perez anyway has been the main protagonist in any bad way Casillas has been treated. But in football terms it's a good time for him to go.

Amazing when you hear the other side of it. Two sides to every story as pointed out above.

His own fans booing him was the most ridiculous part

Skylinehead

Dots1982 wrote: »

There is definitely another way of viewing Casillas. He has been sh*t for two years yet the club stood by him.

I'm sure Real wanted a smooth transition to De Gea as their No. 1 and felt the time was right for a parting of the ways (truth be told that time had come a year or so previously). Yet Casillas came out and said he wanted to stay and fight for his place. The fans are booing you even though you are a legend...have a little self-respect.

They gave Casillas the opportunity to leave with diginity which he threw back in their face and now his final few days were spent arguing over money.

And wanting to stay, and fight for a place ruins that dignity? Utterly bizarre statement that. Anybody else would be lauded.

He's still clinging on to Spain's no 1 jersey after a sh*t World cup. Del Bosque being too weak & loyal to Madrid to drop him. Hopefully the time comes now as with De Gea in goals I would consider Spain favourites for the Euros.

That's on Del Bosque, not Casillas.

I don't disagree with the rest of your post, he's certainly had his unsavoury moments. But the above is just you trying to fit an agenda, IMO.

Dots1982

Skylinehead wrote: »

And wanting to stay, and fight for a place ruins that dignity? Utterly bizarre statement that. Anybody else would be lauded.




That's on Del Bosque, not Casillas.

I don't disagree with the rest of your post, he's certainly had his unsavoury moments. But the above is just you trying to fit an agenda, IMO.

Depends how you fight, Casillas' method was a dirty fight where when he was dropped he used the press and campaigned to the club's hierarchy. You call it fighting for your place....I call it an ego exercise....was it really going to be healthy having De Gea in the team and Casillas on the bench...either still as captain or after being stripped as captain

Dots1982

It also amuses me slightly when you say anyone else would be lauded for fighting for their place...I can't wait for John Terry to be lauded if he stays on at Chelsea two season past his usefulness to the team and makes weekly mistakes...even if he doesn't play the games Casillas has with the press and the club hierarchy..

Bohrio

Dots1982 wrote: »

There is definitely another way of viewing Casillas. He has been sh*t for two years yet the club stood by him.

Thats true, he hasnt been himself but partially because his current situation in Real was unbearable, and possibly (and this is just me guessing) this affected his mood and shape, mostly mentally.

I'm sure Real wanted a smooth transition to De Gea as their No. 1 and felt the time was right for a parting of the ways (truth be told that time had come a year or so previously). Yet Casillas came out and said he wanted to stay and fight for his place. The fans are booing you even though you are a legend...have a little self-respect.

Casillas wanted to stay because he felt he could still do well for the team, but from thre to say that Real wanted a smooth transition well... they have brought 2 goalkeepers to substitute him and he hasnt been Real's mains keeper for 3 years. Not easy for someone who is far from finished. And only a small percentage of fans dislike him. I do agree he made poor choices but he wanted to help remove Real's real cancer.

Btw, Casillas left because he wanted, not because he was asked to leave, or at least this is what Florentino said... dont kno how much of this is true. Personally I think Flo has realized he made a big mistake in the way he treated Casillas and now he is trying to make up for it... I think he is not helping Real IMO

There were even some declarations (unfortunate ones though) by Casillas family this week saying that Florentino has been there to get him since 2010...

And just out of curiosity, out of all the titles that Real has won in the last 3 years, in all of those, Casillas was the goal keeper (CL, Liga, Spanish Cup, etc).

They gave Casillas the opportunity to leave with diginity which he threw back in their face and now his final few days were spent arguing over money.

They never offered him anything to my knowledge, but again, I dont know what was cooking behind doors. If myself at work, am treated with disrespect, and after 3 years I have the opportunity to leave after being physiologically bullied by my manager, trust me, I would be asking for every single bit of money they owe me.

He has been captain of RM when their dressing room is rife with division which is so bad its clearly visible on the pitch. This doesn't say much for his leadership skills.

Dont agree with this and my explanation on the following point

He comes across as a poor character, blanking ex team-mates such as Torres after the Cl QF vs Athletico. Also his constant plotting against Mourinho leaking his teams to the press reflect badly on him but this seems to be forgotten about now.

Nobody has forgotten Mou and the damage he did to real and the Spanish team as well and how close was it to be an absolute catastrophe. After those dodgy Barcelona Real Madrid games where he created an atmosphere of hate and disgusting behavior who was very close to rupture the relationship between the two teams and between their players.

But it was Casillas who rang Xavi and started to put the pieces back together. Casillas, not Xavi, Sergio nor anyone else, Casillas, as the captain of the Spanish team made the first call and since then things went back to normal.

Mourinho is a name that, which the exception of a few radical Mou fans, Real fans are trying to forget. He brought nothing but destruction to the team. Which by the way, was much appreciated by Barcelonas fans.. to an extend.

He's still clinging on to Spain's no 1 jersey after a sh*t World cup. Del Bosque being too weak & loyal to Madrid to drop him. Hopefully the time comes now as with De Gea in goals I would consider Spain favourites for the Euros.

Casillas was not the reason why Spain failed miserably in the WC, there were many others like Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi, Costa, Pique, Sergio who did an absolutely disgraceful WC, and the main responsible was Vicente.

Very easy for people to get misty-eyed about Casillas and say Madrid have treated him badly but the truth as I see it is that he is a poisonous presence in the dressing room and led to him alienating practically everyone at the club.

Yet some people are suckers for a grown man shedding tears for not getting what he wanted.

Why Porto have bought him is beyond me.

This is not true, names such as Raul Gonzalez, Guti, Hierro, in fact, I can't remember the last time they farewell one of their legends, at least not in the last 25-30 years? I could be wrong here but pretty sure that, at least during Florentinos era, he has failed to ack their legends, last one Raul and Guti.

For instance, Raul went through a very difficult period as well, and after he left Madrid, and went to germany, he decided to leave Schalke after 2 years, and in his farewell they made him a big commemoration and they retired his number... I mean I know it was de-retired shortly after but at least they tried!

Florentino was so embarrased as he had play this one very badly that brought him a couple of years later to play a friendly between Al Sad and Real and use this time as his farewell game... 3 years later.

Ulysses Gaze

kingtiger wrote: »

Perez is known as "the cancer of Madrid" by most supporters of Real

they cant stand the guy as he is turning the club into a circus

But enough still voted for him even after he did the same things during his first Presidency.....

Billy86

I wonder if he just burned too many bridges?

I've been a big, big fan of Casillas since the 90s, but by the looks of things he became a self important pr!ck who assumed he was untouchable. He wasn't played very well in years at this stage, and it came back to bite him. If you want to be a d!ck head to other staff, including one of the most successful managers of his era (who famously forms incredible relationships with most of his players) you've got to back it up. Casillas no longer could, so off he goes. No sympathy.

Billy86

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

But enough still voted for him even after he did the same things during his first Presidency.....

And the he'll mess things up, get voted out, sit about while his successor does what he can to fix his latest mess, build up a big media/PR machine to promote himself and make up rumours about the opposing president (if not just airing dirty laundry out in public, sure they're one if the two Spanish Giants and thus semi-exempt from FIFA/UEFA laws)... and get voted in to get back to turning the club into a circus.

So basically, he's like Madrid's own one man version of Fianna Fail. :pac:

RedemptionZ

He did mar his legacy slightly with the last two seasons, but the man is a legend. Absolute legend and gave 25 years of his life to a club he absolutely loved. Disgraceful carry on by Madrid. Really ****ty form. Wonder will Perez get the same send off as Iker?

Barca wouldn't do that(Xavi), Man Utd wouldn't do that(Keane) and I don't think any big or small club would or should do that if they were dealing with a man who has devoted so much time to the club. There was probably internal fights and I doubt he left on the best of terms but it's no excuse, he deserves a send off.

Billy86

RedemptionZ wrote: »

He did mar his legacy slightly with the last two seasons, but the man is a legend. Absolute legend and gave 25 years of his life to a club he absolutely loved. Disgraceful carry on by Madrid. Really ****ty form. Wonder will Perez get the same send off as Iker?

Barca wouldn't do that(Xavi), Man Utd wouldn't do that(Keane) and I don't think any big or small club would or should do that if they were dealing with a man who has devoted so much time to the club. There was probably internal fights and I doubt he left on the best of terms but it's no excuse, he deserves a send off.

This is true, but it has to be remembered that Madrid are a club full of pathetic carry on like this, that he was at the center of. He's been playing with fire a long time now, and Madrid have done well to be rid of him. Sure, he deserved a send off it he got himself into that mess, I would say the last few years have more than slightly marred his legacy (in terms of how he is viewed as a peofessional; conduct, etc). Problem is, they cater to their celebrities far too much and this will just repeat itself. Over and over. Just as it has done up to ow. Over and over.

Will they learn? Will they f***! Their answer will be the same as with every problem - "throw money at it, and if that doesn't work then sack the manager and throw more money at it. And if that doesn't work, get rid of the President, sack the manager and throw more money at it."





Edit: his parents were on the other day about how awful it is that he is at Porto also, how the club is beneath a player of his stature. Now I am not sure if it is the case here, but players often use family to 'speak through' with the media. I wouldn't be shocked if to was, but whoever decided to say that, be it Casillas or his parents, is an ar*ehole, pure and simple.

Richard Hillman

He had the opportunity to leave gracefully over the last few years. Mourinho and Anchelotti both told him that he wasn't their first choice but stuck around and used his legacy as a weapon and created strife in the dressing room. For some reason a far better keeper in Diego Lopez was sold last year and Casillas managed to cling on to his role at tge club.

His graceless exit was his own doing. Eventually the club just had enough and said if you're not going to leave gracefully then we're pushing you.

I'm glad to see the back of him. He spoiled his own legacy.

Richard Hillman

kingtiger wrote: »

Perez is known as "the cancer of Madrid" by most supporters of Real

they cant stand the guy as he is turning the club into a circus

This is a lie

Bohrio

Richard Hillman wrote: »

This is a lie

You would be surprised how many Real Madrid fans are not happy with Florentino and never approved his methods, specially recently.

He had to resign during his first mandate in Real Madrid after all the criticism he received.

In all fairness I think he is doing what he can, he is just a business man, and that is probably his main flaw. He is treating the club as a business.

Regarding Casillas not leaving earlier I agree, he tried to postpone the inevitable, but in all fairness, Diego Lopez and Bravo had their chances, and made mistakes as well. I will say it again of all the titles Real won in the last 2 seasons Casillas was the main Goal keeper.

Ulysses Gaze

RedemptionZ wrote: »

He did mar his legacy slightly with the last two seasons, but the man is a legend. Absolute legend and gave 25 years of his life to a club he absolutely loved. Disgraceful carry on by Madrid. Really ****ty form. Wonder will Perez get the same send off as Iker?

Barca wouldn't do that(Xavi), Man Utd wouldn't do that(Keane) and I don't think any big or small club would or should do that if they were dealing with a man who has devoted so much time to the club. There was probably internal fights and I doubt he left on the best of terms but it's no excuse, he deserves a send off.

Didn't Utd rescind Keane's contract halfway through a season when he was still injured?

LiamoSail

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

Didn't Utd rescind Keane's contract halfway through a season when he was still injured?

Recind his contract? Is that a new way of saying they sacked him?