Real Madrid captain leaves club just weeks after winning Champions League trophy — Naharnet

Real Madrid captain Nacho Fernández ends his career at the club less than a month after lifting the Champions League trophy in London.

Madrid announced Nacho’s decision on Tuesday, about three weeks after the club beat Borussia Dortmund at Wembley to win its 14th European Cup. It was the sixth time Nacho had won the Champions League with Madrid and the first as captain.

Nacho has won 26 trophies with Madrid, a record he shares with Luka Modric.

“Real Madrid would like to thank and express our appreciation to Nacho, one of the club’s greatest legends,” the club said.

Nacho, 34, who is playing for Spain at the European Championships, has been at Madrid for more than two decades since joining the club’s youth academy in 2001.

“I came as a 10-year-old and I grew as a person and as a player,” Nacho said in a letter to his fans on social media. “For almost 25 years I came to the same place every day to train, learned the values ​​of Madrid and gave my life and fought for this title. I gave everything I had.”

Nacho has not said where he will play next, but according to Spanish media, he is set to join a team in Saudi Arabia.

After making his first-team debut in 2012, Nacho played twelve seasons for Madrid, making 364 appearances and winning four Spanish league titles.

“Since he joined our youth academy as a child, Nacho has been a role model for everyone and has earned the affection, recognition and admiration of everyone at Real Madrid,” said club president Florentino Pérez. “Real Madrid is and will remain his home.”