Iker's tweet - joke or hack?
Iker Casillas tells fans 'I hope you respect me - I'm gay' in deleted Twitter post
Real Madrid and Spain legend Iker Casillas tweeted he was gay in a short statement on Twitter - adding he hoped fans would continue to respect him - before later deleting the tweet
Legendary Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas said "I'm gay" and asked for fans to "respect" him in a now deleted tweet.
Casillas retired from football in 2020 after suffering a cardiac arrest during training with Portuguese side Porto. He is best remembered for his spell between the sticks with Real Madrid and being at the heart of Spain's all-conquering international side.
The 41-year-old's Twitter account posted on Sunday afternoon: "I hope you respect me: I'm gay." Former Spanish team-mate Carlos Puyol responded to the shot-stopper's tweet, saying: ""It's time to tell our story, Iker," along with a heart and kiss emoji. However, a little over an hour later, the tweet was deleted.
Casillas had been married to married to sports journalist Sara Carbonero for five years before their separation in March 2021, and the pair had two children together.
The Spaniard had previously dated beauty pageant star Eva Gonzalez for four years before he met Sara. And Casillas famously shared a smooch with Sara, who was working as a journalist, after Spain won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The pair married in 2016, shortly before welcoming their second child. However, in March 2021 the pair announced they had gone their separate ways in an emotional statement.
The statement read: "Both Sara and I feel enormously proud of the family we are and of having shared a love that has filled us with happiness during all our years together.
Today our love as a couple takes different but not distant paths since we'll continue together in the marvellous task of continuing to be devoted parents as we have been up until now.
"This is a well-considered decision which we have taken through mutual agreement. The respect, affection and friendship will remain for ever."
Casillas has a glittering career in football, and he has one World Cup, two European Championships, five La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues to his name.
He joined Real as a nine-year-old, and would remain their for 25 years, before finally leaving Los Blancos 2015, where he went to spend a further five years at Porto.
Casillas has since returned to Real, where he was appointed as the deputy to the Real Madrid Foundation CEO.
#Spain #football
— English in Madrid (@madteacher72) October 9, 2022
Casillas DELETES tweet which announced that he was coming out as gay https://t.co/n9hUtLKRGO via @MailSport
Iker Casillas: Ex-Real Madrid and Spain keeper deletes 'I'm gay' tweet and says he was hacked
Former Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas has deleted a tweet that said he was gay - saying his account was hacked.
Casillas tweeted in Spanish: "I hope you respect me: I'm gay," before his former Spain team-mate Carlos Puyol replied: "It's time to tell our story."
The tweet was live for more than an hour before being deleted.
Casillas later tweeted: "Hacked account. Luckily everything in order. Apologies to all my followers."
The tweet added: "Of course, more apologies to the LGBT community."
Casillas split from his wife Sara Carbonero last March. They have two children.
Before Casillas' initial tweet was deleted, Adelaide United player Josh Cavallo, who came out last October, criticised Casillas and Puyol for apparently joking about coming out.
"Joking and making fun out of coming out in football is disappointing," Cavallo tweeted.
"It's a difficult journey that any LGBTQ+ people have to go through. To see my role models and legends of the game make fun out of coming out and my community is beyond disrespectful."
Few high-profile current or former male players have ever come out as openly gay in the sport.
Earlier this year, teenager Jake Daniels became the first professional in the UK men's game for more than 30 years to come out while still playing.
The 17-year-old Blackpool player said the decision would allow him to be "free and confident".
Casillas, who retired in 2020, joined Real Madrid aged nine and made 725 appearances for the club during a 16-year career at the Bernabeu, winning three Champions League titles and five La Liga crowns.
He moved to Porto in 2015, winning two Primeira Liga titles and one Portuguese Cup, but his playing career ended after he suffered a heart attack during training in April 2019. He later joined the club's coaching staff.
As well as winning the 2010 World Cup, he helped Spain to two successive European Championships in 2008 and 2012, and won 167 caps between 2000 and 2016.
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Comments
The article of Daily Star and BBC Sport, said the same. It seems that Mr. Casillas said that he was gay and after he deleted it. It could be that it was true that he wrote it because this kind of people usually seek publicity to sell himself, but it could be he was hacked, although I don´t know how you can do that. Both cases are difficult to prove. Anyway, both situations are the same for me. I don´t care if he´s gay or not. I´m going to respect equally. In my opinion, everybody treats both in the same way in this country.
No way, you can hoax with this topic because you can injure other people, like Mr. Cavallo, football player too. This is unnecessary.
I wish he were as so important person to society as goalkeeper, with Mrs. Sara or without Mrs. Sara. This is the most interesting. There is an advertisement of Mr. Casillas in the underground about the attorney´s office. I suppose that he only announces it, but he doesn´t work like barrister.
See you.
Casillas's tweet was an unwise joke given how easily people are offended nowadays. What made matters worse was him claiming that his account had been hacked. He was just trying to dig himself out of a hole as he was worried about losing sponsorship deals.
In my opinion, Casillas is as dull as dishwater but I prefer him to Ramos. It infuriated me when he would do his bullfighter routine at the end of a match. An absolute twat!
The article of the Daily Star and BBC Sport said the same. It seems that Mr. Casillas said that he was gay but then he deleted it. It might be the case that he wrote it because, as with other people in the public eye, he was seeking publicity to sell himself. It could also be true that he was hacked, although I don´t know how that could have happened. Both cases are difficult to prove. Anyway, both situations are the same for me. I don´t care if he´s gay or not. I´d respect him just the same. In my opinion, everybody would do likewise in this country.
You must not joke about this topic because you can hurt other people like Mr. Cavallo, a football player too. This is unnecessary.
I wish he were as important to society as a goalkeeper with or without Ms. Carbonara. This is more interesting. There is an advertisement with Mr. Casillas in the underground for an attorney´s office. I suppose that he is only the face of the firm but he doesn't work as a barrister.