- Nacho returned to the Bernabeu for special send-off
- Former captain officially left Real Madrid last month
- Won six Champions League titles during 13 years in first-team
Nacho Fernandez couldn't hold back the tears as he was honoured at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday for his decades of service to the club.
The 34-year-old lifted the Champions League trophy last month in his final act for Madrid, leaving when his contract expired at the end of June. Nacho will continue his career this coming season with Al Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League but was invited back 'home' this week to properly say goodbye.
He struggled to keep the emotion at bay as he stood in front of the 26 trophies he won during 13 years as a first-team player to address a room filled with family and teammates, past and present, having already shed tears watching a special video montage that Madrid had prepared.
"It's a difficult day, different, but emotional. You have given me more than I have been able to give back. You have taught me to live life with determination. I have defended this crest on and off the pitch every second of my life," Nacho said.
"This club is everything to me and to my entire family. I have been making the same journey for 24 years in a row. From my home to my other home...because my family is here. You don't know what a journey it is to enter the first-team dressing room and end up lifting the Decimoquinta [15th European Cup]. I am leaving in the best way, as captain."
"Thank you, Real Madrid, for making me a man with perfect values. Thank you, [Carlo] Ancelotti, for believing in me. Thank you, teammates, you are the best. Thank you all. Thinking about you only makes me happy. Thank you to all the club's staff, because you have made me a better player and person. Mum, Dad, all this is thanks to you. A lot of sacrifice for me and for my brother Alex. And thanks to my sister Maite for so many trips so that we could train and play. And thanks to my wife Maria, the best person in the world, for never letting go of my hand..."
After joining the youth ranks at age of ten, Nacho climbed the ranks, through Castilla, and became a valued member of the first-team. Although not always a starter, Nacho's versatility and dependability made him an asset and he surpassed 40 appearances in each of his final three seasons.
His six Champions League titles, the first in 2013/14 and the last in 2023/24, is a joint competition record alongside Madrid icon Paco Gento and now former teammates Luka Modric and Dani Carvajal.
