Xavi slams Real Madrid over ‘bad taste’ Casillas exit

MADRID — Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Xavi has hit out at Real Madrid for failing to give departing captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas the send-off he deserved before his switch to Porto.

A tearful Casillas appeared alone in the Bernabeu Stadium press room on Sunday and the 34-year-old choked up several times as he read a farewell statement that brought to an end 16 seasons in the Real first team.

A wave of criticism followed, with Casillas’s parents also saying in a newspaper interview their son had been forced out of the club by President Florentino Perez.

Real responded by organising an official presentation with Perez and Casillas at the Bernabeu on Monday, when hundreds of fans who turned up in sweltering heat chanted for the president to quit and gave Casillas a rousing ovation.

The contrast between Sunday’s surreal appearance and the send-off Barca gave his close friend Xavi was telling.

A product of Barca’s academy, Xavi, 35, joined Qatari side Al Sadd at the end of last season and fans, officials and team mates paid homage to him at a packed Nou Camp stadium where the midfielder was surrounded by family and friends.

Xavi wrote in Spanish daily La Vanguardia on Tuesday that Casillas had not changed since they first met at the U-17 World Cup in Egypt in 1997 and that he remained “a good person”.

“That’s why it leaves a bad taste what is happening with him now,” Xavi wrote.

“In recent years, I have seen that he is not enjoying himself like before.

“He even seems bitter and I think everyone in this country [Spain] should think about this.

“It cannot be that maturing Spanish athletes are not shown sufficient respect, that people neglect to value everything they have done for their sport and instead focus on their defects, sometimes with malicious intent.”

Xavi drew a comparison with Juventus and Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon, who he said still appeared to be enjoying himself in goal at the age of 37.

“I look at Iker and I have the feeling that lately he is playing under pressure, as if he has to prove what a great keeper he is in every match, without the joy he always had.

“Now he is going to Porto and I am sure he will be welcomed as a hero. Away from here they will appreciate him more.”

Casillas had no words of regret or rancor as he put an emotional end to his 25 years as a Real Madrid goalkeeper on Sunday, promising instead to “not let down” his new fans at FC Porto.

“After 25 years defending the colours of the best team in the world, the difficult day has arrived when I say goodbye to the institution that has given me so much,” Casillas said in what could be his final appearance at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“Thanks, a thousand thanks, I will never forget you. Wherever I go I will continue shouting ‘Hala Madrid!’.”

Casillas joined Madrid’s youth academy at age 9 before debuting for its first team in 1999. He won 19 trophies for Madrid, including three Champions League titles and five Spanish league crowns, while also captaining Spain to the 2010 World Cup and two European championships.

Avoiding any mention of Madrid President Florentino Perez or the drawn-out negotiations over the past week to complete his transfer, Casillas said his reasons for leaving were based on the interest shown by Porto.

“I am going to Porto for two reasons,” he said. “The first is the excitement that the coach and the president of the Portuguese club have expressed and, second, because of the messages of support I have received from their fans during these days. They have won me over and their interest has made me very happy. ”

Neither club has released the financial details of the deal, but Spanish media report Madrid is paying for part of Casillas’ salary that was due to him over the final two seasons of his contract with the Spanish side.