From Di Stéfano to Cristiano: the other 'Messi case' of Madrid

Now that everything indicates that Messi is going to leave Barcelona, breaking a fruitful relationship of 20 years, in which both the player and the Barça club have achieved numerous successes throughout all this time, it should be remembered that Madrid has also suffered traumatic departures. We review some of them …

Di Stefano

Surely the exit plus traumatic was the departure of what has been its watchword throughout its long century of existence: Alfredo Di Stéfano. The forward had arrived in 1953 and would leave the white club 11 years later, in the summer of 1964, after a tough fight with coach Miguel Muñoz after losing in Vienna the final of the European Cup against Inter (3-1). Days later, the whites had to face Atlético in the Cup. Muñoz decided not to summon Di Stéfano without justification and the star felt like a shot. Knowing Bernabéu, he intervened to strengthen the coach. After a tough meeting, Di Stéfano would leave the White House and would sign for Espanyol… Over time, Florentino recovered his figure to make him Honorary President.

'The vulture'

In May 1995, Emilio Butragueño, The mythical Vulture, With Ramon Mendoza, announced his departure to the press: “My goodbye to Madrid is the most convenient”. It had been a convulsive course for the forward who gave name to a fifth. That course appeared Raul, which devoured Butragueño and also Alfonso. He Vulture He only participated in 12 matches. Of course, he left with a tribute match against Roma. He went to Mexico, to Atlético Celaya, where he would retire. Now he is the director of Institutional Relations of Madrid.

Iron

The departure of the then captain was one of the most controversial of the club's modern history. Despite winning the 2002-03 League, Florentino decided not to renew Del Bosque. Iron and the locker room heavyweights will they rioted during the celebration of the title in a restaurant and the president decided also do without the central, pending renovation. He returned to Madrid in 2014 to be the assistant of Ancelotti before embarking on his path as a coach and then in the RFEF.

Raul

Like his predecessor wearing the 7th, Raúl's departure left a Madridista generation orphaned (the team was christened the Raul Madrid). After 16 campaigns, more than 700 games and 300 goals, Raúl went to Schalke. Like Butragueño, he began to glimpse his departure when Pellegrini stopped counting on him. Goodbye was cold. With hardly any prior announcement, there was only 2,000 madridistas at the Bernabéu … The entity arranged it in 2013, when it invited the Al saad where was he Seven to the Bernabéu Trophy. He returned to Madrid to be a coach and has just won the Youth League with Juvenil.

Boxes

Another painful march was that of Iker, in 2015 and after several years of agony pressures from the fans, from Mourinho … The meta gave a solo press conference to advertise your march to Porto while the team flew to Australia and did so between tears. The next day, after the criticism received (Florentino explained that it was Iker himself who had wanted this staging and that he was leaving because he wanted to), Madrid arranged a second goodbye: this time with his trophies at the Bernabéu and the public . The goal was leaving after 16 years and questioned by his clash with Mou. First Diego López and then Keylor had removed him from the title. Now, five years later, after overcoming heart failure and recently retired, Iker prepares to return as Florentino's advisor.

Christian

While Madrid celebrated the third consecutive Champions League, Christian spoiled the party: “It was very nice to be at Madrid …”. His departure would occur during the World Cup in Russia and put an end to nine years, with 450 goals, the all-time top scorer. He went to Juventus for € 100M. The reason for his departure was a bitter dispute with the club over his emoluments (he considered that Barça treated Messi better). His departure left the fans and the club upset, and they did not recover until Zidane returned. However, now the relations between Florentino and the crack have improved. Time heals all…