Raul Albiol has turned to Villarreal as youth coach after ending his playing career this summer. Former Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol has revealed the reason he decided to leave Real Madrid in the summer of 2013. He wanted to play football regularly, even though staying at the Bernabeu could see him win multiple Champions League titles. He told Diario AS on Monday.
Albiol spent four seasons at Real Madrid after joining from Valencia in the summer of 2009. But he was not a regular for the Madrid side until he decided to leave the Santiago Bernabeu to sign for Napoli in the summer of 2013. ทางเข้า UFABET
‘It’s a pleasure to play with Raul (Gonzalez).’ Albiol said. ‘I grew up watching him play and it’s an honour to be in the dressing room with him.’
‘That season was special because Cristiano, Benzema, Kaka and Xabi Alonso came. The team had a lot of players and star players. Even though we didn’t win anything that year. It was still a great experience.’
Asked if he regretted his decision to leave the club, Albiol replied: ‘There are very few players who leave Real Madrid with four years left on their contract. I had to choose between staying with limited playing time or going out and playing regularly.’
However
Albiol admits that staying at Madrid could mean winning multiple Champions League titles too. ‘If I stay, I might win one, two, maybe four Champions Leagues. But at that time I want to feel like a footballer again.’
The decision to leave Real Madrid came before Carlo Ancelotti took over as manager. As playing time was not guaranteed and he opted to start over elsewhere.
‘The easiest thing is to stay at Real Madrid. I am at the best club in the world. But I choose to play and that is the most important thing for me.’
‘I wanted to feel like a footballer and that’s what I decided. In the end, I didn’t look at anything else.’
‘I was looking for something else, to feel good about myself. To feel valued and to play and compete at a high level again, and Napoli gave me that.’