Casillas announced his retirement on Tuesday after a legendary 22-year playing career that has earned him a host of trophies for both club and country.
Iker and Jose re-established their friendship
José Mourinho claimed that he and Iker Casillas had re-established their relationship after the couple had conflicts on several occasions during their time at Real Madrid. Casillas announced his retirement on Tuesday after a legendary 22-year playing career that has earned him a host of trophies for both club and country. Among the honors, the 39-year-old in his career includes two European Championships, one World Cup with Spain, five LaLiga titles, and three Champions League crowns with Real Madrid. Towards the end of his run with Real Madrid, Casillas fell out with Mourinho, who dropped his side’s longtime starter in favor of Diego Lopez. After facing off against Casillas and Sergio Ramos, Mourinho left Madrid at the end of the 2012-13 season to rejoin Chelsea.
Both are respecting each other
Now coaching Tottenham, Mourinho claimed that he and his former goalkeeper made amends and paid tribute to Casillas by officially calling for his playing career. “His intelligence and maturity made us always respect each other. After years, we even managed to develop honest friendship,” Mourinho told journalists before acknowledging the pair’s difficulties in the past. “He is a historic goalkeeper for Real Madrid, La Roja, and world football,” Mourinho continued. “With him, I won LaLiga, and with him. I had difficult moments because of my professional and never personal decision to play another player”. Mourinho added that Casillas is a “great goalkeeper and a great man”. After a decade and a half with Madrid, Casillas left the Spanish capital in 2015 to join the Portuguese giants Porto.
The goalkeeper played 156 games and won two league titles with Porto before suffering a heart attack in May 2019. After this incident, he was unable to return to the field. Officially bidding farewell to the game, Casillas posted on social media: “The most crucial thing is the path you move and the people who accompany you, not the destination that takes you”. In February, Casillas announced his decision to run for the presidency of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).