Casillas: Why I left Real Madrid
Iker Casillas has revealed that he left Real Madrid for Porto because he "needed space to breathe".
The World Cup winning goalkeeper brought an end to a 25-year spell at the Santiago Bernabeu side in the summer after facing heavy criticism for his performances over the last three years.
And the 34-year-old admits that the situation grew too intense for him and he felt the time was right to leave he club.
"There was a spell when I was getting a lot of criticism and I needed time away from that;" he told reporters. "I’m happy now and it shows on my face.
"It was a tough move, but for me this is a new experience with renewed feelings of excitement.
"The situation at Madrid was not the best; I was always the focus of attention, be it positive or negative, and I needed space to breathe."
Madrid got the season off to a poor start when they were held to a goalless draw by newly-promoted Sporting Gijon in their opening game, but recovered on Saturday with a 5-0 win over Real Betis.
Casillas is impressed by Rafael Benitez's side and believes they will do well this season.
"They look good to me. They’ve reinforced the squad with some interesting players," he said. "We started off with a draw in Gijon, but that was just a question of the team gelling.
"Let’s hope they can continue doing as well as they did against Betis. They have to reduce that two-point gap, but not drive themselves crazy about it. There’s still a long way to go."
The shot-stopper's downfall in Madrid began during Jose Mourinho's time there and the pair will come up against each other again this season, with Porto being drawn in the same Champions League group as Chelsea.
"The draw brought some stories," he said, hinting at his reunion with the Portuguese coach.
“There’s intrigue right from the group stage draw, I could tell as soon as I went out into the street. We can’t compete with the big teams but we’re going to try to put in a good campaign.
“I’d like to be in the Champions League final at San Siro with Porto and be up against Real Madrid."
Casillas also feels he still has a lot to add to his team, despite his veteran status.
“I’m not immortal; I’m going to keep battling, although I’d love to continue playing until I’m 60. Right now I feel in good shape and I hope to continue playing for a long time."
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