Casillas: Mourinho dropped me at Real Madrid for personal reasons

Iker Casillas reveals Jose Mourinho’s decision to drop him at Real Madrid was ‘something personal’, but insists there are no more hard feelings.

Casillas and Mourinho became embroiled in a very personal battle during their time together at Real Madrid.

The Portuguese coach made the infamous move of dropping Casillas, arguably one of the greatest goalkeepers in the club’s history, towards the end of his three-year reign in favor of Diego Lopez. It remained that way until his last day.

Nevertheless, Casillas insists the pair share a good relationship and explained their feud was driven by their shared interest in helping the club move forward.

Asked on how Mourinho’s decision to bench him compared to being on the bench for Vicente del Bosque at the TELMEX TELCEL event, Casillas said on Marca: “The two situations were different.

“One was justified in footballing terms and the other was something personal. We [Casillas and Del Bosque] got on well for a year and a half and the next year we had disagreements, but that was normal between the captain and the coach.

“It doesn’t mean that you’re more important than the coach, but you’re going to end up having issues because you have to speak to him practically every day and the relationship starts to break down.

Casillas: “The difference between my disagreement with Del Bosque and Mourinho? One was on a sporting level while the other was personal. Mou and I got along well for a year and a half and then we weren’t. It’s normal because as team captain, I had to talk to him everyday.” pic.twitter.com/R2PAU3YS2u

— SB (@Realmadridplace) September 27, 2020

Casillas added: “Jose Mourinho thought that I wasn’t at the same level as my teammate and, on top of that, our relationship wasn’t very good, so it was easier for him to choose between one or the other.

“There are a lot of things that people don’t see, but I have a good relationship with him. We’ve seen each other a few times since and we’ve had a nice chat.

“There are no hard feelings between us because both of us wanted the best for the team. I decided to not have much of a relationship with him because I didn’t like a lot of the things I was seeing and he chose to pick another ‘keeper.

“This experience made me much more mature, at the age of 33. You try to not cause any more controversy than there already was at the club. I wouldn’t change anything, and I don’t think I made a mistake.”

Casillas left Real Madrid two years after Mourinho’s departure in 2013 for FC Porto, but his career was cut short following a heart attack in 2019. He officially confirmed his retirement from football last month.