I remember getting it.
Real Madrid (soccer team)
The moment the letter came, I cried before I even opened it.
It was 11am on the day of the 2014 World Cup final, and at the time I was sitting on the table ready for the trainer to come in and give me a shot for the torn thigh muscle I suffered in the quarterfinals, but with the painkillers I was able to run around normally.
I told our trainer this:If it's going to break let it break, I don't care, I just want to stay on the field.
I was icing my leg when Daniel Martinez, the team doctor, came in with an envelope and he said, Ángel, look.
Real Madrid soccer team
Sent this letter.
I replied, "What did you say?
He said, "They said you're in no condition to play. So they took this opportunity to put pressure on us to not play you today.
I knew right away what was going on. Rumors.
Real Madrid soccer team
They wanted to sign James Rodriguez after the World Cup and I knew they were going to sell me to make room for him. They didn't want to damage their assets, it's as simple as that, it's a little known commercial side of soccer.
I asked Daniel to bring me the letter, and I just tore it to pieces without even opening it and said, Drop the letter, I'm in charge here.
I didn't sleep much the night before, partly because the Brazilian fans were setting off huge fireworks outside the hotel all night, but even though it was silent, I think I still had trouble sleeping. There are no words to describe the feeling you get the night before a World Cup final, the feeling that everything you dreamed of as a kid is right in front of you right now.
I really wanted to play that day, even if it meant ending my career, but at the same time I didn't want to cause the team any more problems. I woke up early and went to see our coach Mr. Sabella, we have a good relationship and if I told him I wanted to start, I knew he would pressure me to play or not. I put my hand on my left breast and told him to just put whoever he thought should play on the field.
If that person is me, put me on the field, if it's someone else, put someone else on the field. I just want to win the World Cup. If you need me, I'll fight until my legs give out.
Then I burst into tears, I couldn't control it, all the emotions came flooding onto the field at that moment.
During the pre-match team meeting, Sabella announced that he would start Enzo Perez as he was in perfect health. When I heard the decision, I was very calm. I took a painkilling injection before the game and another one at half-time so that I would be available whenever the team needed me.
But that moment didn't come, we lost the game and I had to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. It was one of the toughest days of my life, and after the game, the media wrote about me in a very unseemly way about why I didn't play. But the truth is what I'm telling you right now, exactly what it is.
But the fact that I actually cried in front of Sabella when I went to talk to him still bothered me, and I wondered if he'd think the reason I cried was because I was too uptight.
The truth is, I don't get nervous at all, I've gotten rid of that emotion because this moment means so much to me and we're just one step away from that impossible dream.
