Guti leaves his heart at Madrid-but moves on professionally…

In a press conference this morning, Jose Maria Gutierrez announced his departure from Real Madrid.  Though his leaving is hardly a surprise, having been linked to other clubs for the past few seasons and rumors of tension between Guti and the club, the reality of not ever seeing Guti in a Real Madrid uniform will undoubtedly be difficult for fans of the club.  Perhaps even harder for Madrid fans is the reality that this is just the tip of an iceberg compared to tomorrow’s rumored announcement.

Guti has spent his entire career at Real Madrid, joining the club when he was 9 and then making his debut for Madrid’s top team 15 years ago in 1995.  He and the club’s relationship has been almost as turbulent as it has been long-but he remained loyal to the club through all the ups and downs:  the trophies and glory as well as the pressure, the parties and being swept aside for two generations of Galacticos.  When the club has been down in the past, Guti has often been able to step-in and save the day.  After Zidane retired in 2006, Real Madrid relied on Guti to be the team’s playmaker and he stepped in to Zidane’s (very large) shoes, performed admirably and was a key reason why Real Madrid won La Liga that season.  The next few seasons saw Guti demonstrate the same inconsistency as in his early career- going through scoring droughts and periods of conflict with the club before producing a superb performance in a key game.

But despite their recent differences- which include being frozen out of the squad and not even included in a list of substitutes by Pellegrini last season for extended periods of time- Guti had only warm things to stay about the club…

“I want to thank Real Madrid. I have lived a stage [of my life] here with beautiful moments and other more complicated [moments]. I grew up here, playing for Real for twenty-four years, fifteen on the first team. I will continue to play elsewhere, but my heart will remain in Madrid.“

The club, despite being rumored to have asked Guti to “stay away” from Real Madrid’s practice sessions while searching for a new club, paid tribute to the service Guti gave the club for over two decades.  Reportedly, at the press conference, the club displayed the 15 titles (including 5 La Liga and 3 Champions League) Guti helped the club win.

As for his future, Guti indicated he will be reuniting with Bernard Schuster, his former coach at Real Madrid, on a two year deal from Besiktas- but he hopes to end up back at Madrid in some capacity in the future.

“I would like to have the possibility of carrying on at Real Madrid when my career as a footballer has ended.”

As difficult as today’s announcement may be for some fans- Real Madrid fans should save some tissues for tomorrow, as Raul is heavily rumored to be announcing his own departure from the club with the Bundesliga’s Schalke being his most likely destination.

The departure of Madrid’s constant duo may only negligibly affect the composition of the players on the field (having played fewer minutes last season)-but the loss of these two figureheads will undoubtedly change the social dynamics in the club.  For better or for worse, it is truly the end of an era!

Fans looking for a place to commiserate should visit The Offside-Real Madrid blog!

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Category: Bundesliga, Europe, Spain La Liga, Transfer Talk