Iker Casillas is delighted to have signed a new one-year contract with FC Porto.
Casillas, whose previous deal was due to expire this summer, made 19 league starts to help Porto capture the league title for the first time in five years.
“I am extremely happy to stay here for one more year,” Casillas, who will turn 37 on Sunday, told the club’s official website. “It’s amazing to be linked with a fantastic club and city, both of which welcomed me from day one.”
Casillas was a reported target of Premier League clubs but always said his first choice was to remain with Porto.
“There were rumours that I would leave, but I always intended to stay,” he said. “Fortunately, I was able to do so, and I am happy.”
The Portuguese press reported that Casillas has accepted a wage cut to stay at the club.
“There are more important things than money,” Casillas said. “To have the opportunity of playing at this club makes me happy and those who know me know it.”
Casillas spent 16 years at Real Madrid with five La Liga crowns and three Champions League titles among the 19 trophies he won with Los Blancos.
Spain’s most-capped player with 167 appearances, Casillas won the 2008 and 2012 European Championship and also lifted the 2010 World Cup.
“We need to start thinking of the coming season and the goal is to surpass what we did this year,” Casillas added. “We have the title in mind, and we have other competitions that are also important for a club as prestigious as is FC Porto.”
Adriana Garcia is a Valencia-based football writer who covers La Liga for ESPN FC.
Be the first to comment