Casillas: Every Madrid player deserves a send-off like Arbeloa

Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas insists every player at the La Liga club deserves a send-off like the one given to Alvaro Arbeloa. 

Arbeloa is set to depart Madrid at the end of the season after a seven-year spell, helping the Spanish giants to domestic and European success along the way.  

The 33-year-old was treated to a huge reception from the Santiago Bernabeu faithful and a warm send-off from his team-mates after their 3-2 win over Valencia on Sunday.

The send-off was a stark contrast to that of Casillas’, who was given just a news conference to say goodbye after his 25-year stint at the club came to an end last season. 

“Every player that plays at Real Madrid deserves these kind of goodbyes, with their team-mates, with the fans,” Casillas said in a video posted on Facebook, taking a thinly-veiled dig at his former club in the process.

“I’m grateful for everything he has given the team and I wish him all the best ahead of this new chapter in his life.

“Alvaro was a product of the youth academy and had to go elsewhere to prove he had the necessary quality to return and play for Real Madrid.”