Casillas: "I am sorry that my career did not end as I would have liked"

Owner of an enviable record, Iker Casillas recognizes that the end of his career was not the desired one.

The former captain of Real Madrid and the Spanish team that won the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 Euro Cups announced on 4 August his retirement from football 15 months after a heart attack took him away from the pitch.

"It was not a difficult decision because I was not the one who made it. It was imposed on me by circumstances and I had no choice but to accept it. It is true that before the heart attack I had been thinking for one or two years how my future could be. Logically, every day I got a little closer to retiring, but it didn't end as I would have liked. That makes me sad, "he said.

In an interview with the magazine

, which will publish the full conversation on Tuesday, the 39-year-old goalkeeper acknowledged that he did not have to say goodbye due to a serious injury, but because of "something very serious" that he got rid of "hopefully ".

"I must be grateful that I have had a successful career with more magical than chaotic moments," said a player turned Real Madrid and Spain legend, whose career was capped with titles at Porto.

Nominated for the best goalkeeper in history

Casillas is one of the ten goalkeepers nominated by the magazine to be chosen as the best goalkeeper in football history, a distinction in which he competes against the Italian

or the German

.

"A great goalkeeper is one who gives you security. That is what any defense tells you, who above all wants the goalkeeper to convey a sense of security. There are many good goalkeepers (...) but if they do not transmit security to their defenses something it doesn't work, "he added.

Among the active goalkeepers who impress him are precisely Neuer (Bayern Munich) and Buffon (Juventus).

"I am quite classic so I would say Neuer, who I have played against, and everyone knows that I am a fan of

, although she plays less. When she does, she stays at a very high level. I also really like Courtois, Oblak, Ter Stegen and Alisson, "he said.

"Dreams come true"

For Casillas, being nominated for the Dream Team Golden Ball is "very important."

"

. I have the feeling that I have achieved it. Entering the list of the ten best goalkeepers in history reminds me that my dreams have really come true," he said .

Casillas humbly pointed out that he blushes compared to his own idols.

"When I think of all the others who are, in fact, legends for me, I get a little red. It amazes me to be there, yes. It is true that I have achieved great things in football, that I have long been one of the better. I leave it to the members of the jury to decide if my presence is legitimate. Looking at it closely, I know that few of us have had a career like mine, "he concluded.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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