"Idon't know whether to cry now, in between...", said Nacho at the most difficult moment of his farewell ceremony, when it was his turn to stand in front of the microphone to say goodbye. He threatened to cry, although he had already done so while watching the video that Real Madrid had prepared for him, a video impossible for any other footballer. The story of a child who arrived at Real Madrid at 10 years old and who leaves 24 years later as captain and after lifting the Fifteenth European Cup. "It's a difficult day, different, but emotional," sighed Nacho. "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," said Nacho in his declaration of love for Madrid: "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 dressing room and end up lifting the Decimoquinta. I am leaving in the best way, as captain."

Nacho moved everyone in his farewell with his thanks. There were Ancelotti, his teammates Courtois, Lucas, Brahim, Ceballos, Lunin, Vallejo, and Fran García; Raúl, Arbeloa, and Solari; and of course Florentino Pérez. "Thank you, Real Madrid, for making me a man with perfect values. Thank you, 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 workers, because you have made me a better player and person..." But the player broke down especially when talking about his parents and his wife. "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..." It was difficult to find someone in the auditorium who was not in tears...

Nacho said goodbye to Real Madrid surrounded by his 26 titles, which he took a photo with his family, Florentino, and his teammates. Presiding over all of them were the six European Cups with which he equalled Paco Gento on June 1st. Florentino Pérez highly valued this record, and also dedicated some words full of affection to him. "Today is an exciting day for Real Madrid fans to say goodbye to one of their greatest examples. Dear Nacho, I want to tell you that we are proud to have been able to count on you. You arrived in 2001 and you have grown up at Real Madrid. Few could have imagined that that child would be one of the few players to win six Champions Leagues."

Nacho is leaving for Saudi Arabia convinced that it was the right time to say goodbye, after a year as first captain in which he won almost everything, with La Liga and the Champions League as his main trophies (he also won the Super Cup) and with the icing on the cake of the Euro Cup with the Spanish national team. A perfect season that invites him to start a new adventure. "I tell my children not to worry, that Real Madrid will always be our home." His son Nacho could not stop crying, like his parents, the first ones who took the child who became a legend to train.

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