“If in Madrid you don’t have the necessary maturity you can go to hell like I did”

Raul de Tomas (Madrid, October 17, 1994) grants an interview to El País on the occasion of the Barcelona derby that this afternoon faces Espanyol and Barcelona. Convinced that it could be a great night for him, he also candidly reviews his time in the Real Madrid academy (You can find the full interview in El País)

What do you take care of?

I have seen the danger of this profession. In the Madrid academy, for example, I was in a bubble in which I didn’t realize things. I had high expectations, many things had been generated in my head that don’t really exist, but I believed them.

As which?

Like you want to play in the first team and be a star.

That is wrong?

If you want all that to happen very soon, yes. You have to think about what football really is. I don’t want to say that Real Madrid isn’t real football. People with a lot of talent play there, who have something different from the others. But there is more below the first team, outside of that bubble I was talking about before. And if you don’t have the maturity to assimilate many things, you can go to hell like I did.

What do you mean?

I am aware that, if I had done things differently, maybe I would have had more opportunities at Madrid. Many times I complained that I wasn’t in the first team and I wasn’t giving 100%. So, he wasn’t professional off the field. He was young and, as often happens with people of that age, he did things that were not correct for a professional athlete.

For example

Food, rest… Now, over time, I realize that I was the wrong one when at that time I thought the coaches were the ones who were wrong about me. It’s not just about quality. At least it’s not enough for me. And for a long time I thought so. So that’s when you get the slap. When you realize that you have done things that are not right, you do not want to relive them. That’s what makes you change. It is a maturity process that helps you make better decisions in life, but also in the field.

How many times have you hit rock bottom?

Three. The first when I had to leave my neighborhood to go live in the Madrid quarry. He was the only youth squad from Madrid. He was lost and the club realized that if they didn’t get me out of there I was going to end up leaving football. I accepted it and it was an important decision. The second, when I left Madrid. I hired my friend Pablo, who is a personal trainer. It was one of the best decisions I made. Today I practice boxing, I do meditation and I am in perfect physical condition.

Third?

I had never talked about this. I didn’t want to go to Benfica. But there were many interests. Lisbon is very beautiful and Benfica is a great club, but when things don’t go well for you at work, everything looks bad.