SPAIN'S World Cup-winning goalkeeper Iker Casillas is about to return to his 'native' team, Real Madrid – but as advisor to chairman Florentino Pérez, not to play.
Iker, 39, said when he left the Liga club for FC Oporto in 2015 that he 'always intended' to return, although after five years in their seafront home in the Portuguese city, and the second of their two children been born there within the first year, making the move may not have been such an easy decision for the goalie and his wife, TV reporter, model and fashion designer Sara Carbonero.
Back in May last year and just before Iker's 38th birthday, he collapsed suddenly during training and was rushed to hospital, diagnosed with a cardiomyopathy – a narrowing or obstructing of the arteries to the heart – and fitted with stents.
Within days of this shock announcement, the family suffered another blow when Sara, then 35, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer during a routine gynaecology visit.
Fortunately, it was found at an early enough stage that her doctors were able to talk of a complete cure – which is rarely the case with ovarian cancer as it is asymptomatic until it is at a very advanced stage – and she underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy between May and November 2019.
Sara had started work with the sports programme on Spain's fourth channel – Deportes Cuatro – interviewing sports stars live, but was force to take time off because of her illness.
She continued linked to the clothing brand, SlowLove, which she runs alongside two of her closest friends, promoting its latest creations on Instagram, but has only now started work again fully – with L'Oréal Paris, for whom she had been the face for some years, although it is not clear exactly what her job with them will involve.
Iker, however, was hoping not to have to retire from his own line of work and continually dismissed claims that he would, but found he was unable to return to FC Oporto as a player.
He was said to be gunning for the rôle as chairman of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) – as was, it was rumoured, former president of Spain Mariano Rajoy – but was unable to stand in the end because of the change in election dates.
For the moment at least, it seems the RFEF chairmanship has been shelved, but Iker's new job behind the scenes with Real Madrid is likely to give him experience and skills that would make him a stronger candidate for the RFEF if he opted to stand for election in the future.
Probably due to start with Real Madrid again in September, the announcement suggests Iker has patched things up with chairman Florentino Pérez and could serve to heal the rift between the latter and fans who have not forgiven him for how they considered he treated Iker, former captain of the Spanish national team.
In a social media homage to the decade anniversary of Spain's first-ever World Cup win in 2010, Iker appeared for barely a split second, which he took very personally, but this lapse was attributed to the organisation of the national team management, 'Sefútbol', not to his former boss.
A serious falling-out between Pérez and Iker had been largely behind the latter's decision to join Oporto, although this was five years ago, and both appeared to have cooled down and put things into perspective – especially in light of Iker's brush with death and his wife's cancer battle.
Once they are working together again from September, at the start of the new season, Iker will be carrying out a similar rôle to that which Real Madrid's manager Zinedine 'Zizou' Zidane held for a while from June 2013, acting as a 'bridge' between the locker rooms and the board of directors.
Iker and Sara already own a house in Madrid, where they were based before, and were said to be having serious discussions about where life was going to take them next, along with their sons Martín, six and Lucas, four, now that Iker's career with Oporto had ceased.
During his time in Portugal, Iker swiftly became an icon among the fan base, and Oporto supporters have begged him to play 'for at least one minute' to help their team win the Portuguese Premier League.
The second photograph shows Florentino Pérez (left) and Iker Casillas (right) and, in the first, Iker holds up the cup after Spain won its second consecutive UEFA Euro, in 2012.
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