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Iker Casillas at Euro 2012 final Spain-Italy. Photo by Football.ua.

Top 10 Outstanding Facts about Iker Casillas

Iker Casillas Fernández is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Popularly dubbed “San Iker” for his ability to produce spectacular saves, Casillas is widely considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.

 He is known for his athleticism, quick reactions and outstanding shot-stopping ability. Having spent the majority of his career at Real Madrid, Casillas is one of the few players to achieve over 1000 professional career matches, and holds the record for the most clean sheets in the UEFA Champions League, as well as for the Spain national team. Here are the Top 10 Outstanding Facts about Iker Casillas.

1. He always wanted to play football

Photo by Jan SOLO. .

Iker Casillas childhood dream was to become a professional soccer player and play for his hometown club, Real Madrid. His father was a big fan of football even before Iker Casillas birthday and at the request of his father, he chose the post of goalkeeper, although he did not want to be a goalkeeper.

2. He lost about one million euros

Over one weekend during his childhood, Iker forgot to post a letter about his father’s predictions of football competitions. His father had correctly predicted all 14 matches requested, and if Iker had not forgotten to post the letter, they would not have lost about one million euros. Iker usually went to the park with his father to practice football.

3. He Insured his hands and became an insurance spokesman

In 2007, Casillas insured his hands for €7.5m with Groupama Insurance. The policy covered his hands for injuries suffered either on or off the field. He actually became a spokesman for the insurance company and cracked that, “If I damage my knee, I’ll pretend my hand hurts”.

4. He had a contract for life at Madrid

In 2008, Casillas signed a contract extension up until 2017,  that included an automatic extension if he plays 30 competitive matches during the final season of this contract, with  a buy-out clause of £113 million. However, he turned 36 in 2017 and Madrid started exploring other options in goal. 

5. His girlfriend Sara Carbonero was blamed for a loss to Switzerland

Iker Casillas. Real Madrid 1 – Zurich 0. Photo by Jan SOLO. .

Journalist Sara Carbonero and Casillas have been dating 2009, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the two. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup it was alleged in the media that Carbonero, reporting during Spain’s opening loss to Switzerland, had distracted Casillas, causing the unexpected Swiss victory. The couple furiously denied the claims and most of the Spanish press later supported them.

6. His brother is a soccer player

He is the oldest boy in the family, but Casillas has a younger brother. His brother, Unai, was born when Casillas was only seven, but it’s a big age difference as kids. Casillas was also not the only athletically inclined child in the family, either. His brother was a central midfielder for a team called CD Mostoles.

7. He announced his divorce in 2021

He’s a man who is no longer married. He married his longtime love, Sara Carbonero, in March 2016. They’d been dating since 2009, and it was only natural for them to get married nearly seven years into their relationship. Unfortunately, after five years of marriage, they decided to end things and go their separate ways.

They made the announcement in March 2021. He and his estranged wife have two children together. Their first child, a son by the name of Martin, was born in 2014. Their second son was born just a few months after the couple married in 2016. His name is Lucas.

8. Iker has worked with major brands

Iker Casillas. Photo by Gobierno de Chile. .

As a famous Real Madrid star, he’s had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest brands in the world. Casillas spent years working with Reebok before terminating his relationship with the athletic brand to work with Adidas.

He made a lot of his money working with these companies on the endorsements they asked him to make, and he has no regrets about any of it.

9. He has been a captain to the Spanish team

Appointed captain of the Spanish team bound for the 2008 Euros in Austria and Switzerland, Casillas led his team out for the first time against Russia. In a five-goal affair in Innsbruck, David Villa’s hat-trick put Spain on course for a comfortable win. Roman Pavlyuchenko denied Casillas a clean-sheet on his captaincy debut, but Spain ran out 4-1 winners.

Casillas starred in Spain’s 2-1 win over Sweden in Innsbruck and sat out his team’s third group game against Greece in Salzburg. Back in the starting line-up for the quarterfinals, Casillas saved penalties from Antonio Di Natale and Daniele de Rossi as Spain beat Italy 4-2 in a penalty shootout following a goalless 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of extra time. That marked Spain’s first competitive victory over Italy in 88 years, since a 2-0 victory over their friendly neighbours at the 1920 Antwep Olympics.

Casillas kept two more clean sheets in the tournament, against Russia in the semis (3-0) and against Germany in the final (1-0), as Spain ended their 44-year wait for a European Championships title.

10. He is a retired footballer

Iker Casillas, goalkeeper for Real Madrid. Photo by goatling..

Lionel Messi, Barcelona star, said about his retirement: “Iker retires today, but he passed into the history of football a long time ago. ‘Not only because he was a benchmark in La Liga, but also because he managed to win everything internationally.” “The important thing is the path you travel and the people who accompany you, not the destination to which it takes you.”

“I think I can say, without hesitation, that it has been the path and the dream destination. “The great Iker Casillas has also won many titles like the 2010 FIFA World cup as well as the 2008 and 2012 UEFA European Championship with the Spain national team