Iker Casillas, who played alongside and against some of the greatest players during Real Madrid’s clashes with Barcelona, surprisingly did not choose Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi as his personal favorite.
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Casillas is widely known for his time as Real Madrid’s number one goalkeeper, making 725 appearances for the club between 1999 and 2015. ..Continue Reading
During his tenure at the Santiago Bernabeu, Casillas won five La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies, four Supercopa de Espana titles, and three Champions League trophies.
After leaving Real Madrid in 2015, Casillas joined FC Porto, where he played until his retirement in 2020, winning the Portuguese league title.
Casillas ranks second in the all-time caps list for Spain, with 167 appearances from 2000 to 2016, trailing only his former teammate Sergio Ramos.
As part of Spain’s golden generation, Casillas played alongside Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, and David Villa, winning the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, and the World Cup in 2010.
Casillas faced Barcelona every season in El Clasico, one of the biggest club games in world football.
When asked by GOAL to choose the best player from those two iconic teams, Casillas did not pick Ronaldo or Messi but instead selected another legendary player.
Casillas opted for Raul over Samuel Eto’o, before choosing the Brazilian Ronaldo (R9) over other greats such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Michael Owen, Romario, David Beckham, Ronaldinho, Gareth Bale, Pedro, Guti, Rivaldo, and Karim Benzema.
Ultimately, Casillas selected Zinedine Zidane over Ronaldo, declaring his firm choice.
However, when Diego Maradona was considered, Casillas picked the late Argentine legend, who played for Barcelona between 1982 and 1984, over both Messi and Ronaldo.
Maradona won La Liga and the Copa del Rey with Barcelona before moving to Napoli, where he enjoyed the best years of his career, winning two Serie A titles and the Coppa Italia.
Maradona’s inspirational performances also led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup, including the famous ‘Hand of God’ goal.
