How did a Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas end up costing his family $1 million at age 7?

Iker Casillas is widely considered one of the best goalkeepers in the history of soccer. The goalkeeper is considered a legend for both Real Madrid, where he spent the majority of his career, and for Spain, for whom he secured the World Cup win in 2010.

Fans still remember him, his iconic saves, and how he often single-handedly saved his teams. And yet he used to make mistakes like every other human. And he once made a very costly mistake, which cost his family a lot.

Real Madrid icon Casillas’ blunder unearthed

Iker Casillas may have seemed unbeatable at times, but he also made mistakes between the goalposts. The Spaniard cost his team a few goals, which may have cost him trophies as well. But nothing comes close to what he once did as a 7-year-old child.

As a child, his father, José Luis Casillas, used to bet. He had selected 14 teams and results as part of an accumulator bet. He then gave the betting slip to his 7-year-old son, who was instructed to go place it. But being a young kid, the younger Casillas forgot to go to the bookies and place the bet. In hindsight, it was a bad decision to hand a child a betting slip in the first place.

As fate would have it, all of the predictions for the 14 matches came true. It would have paid out a whopping £1 million, which would have surely been a blessing for the family.

While the bet did not come to fruition for his father, Iker would later prove to be worth more than £1 million. He became a great goalkeeper and brought more fame, wealth, and glory to the family. So it is safe to say he is more than happy with his son.

Why did Iker Casillas leave Real Madrid?

Iker Casillas spent 16 years at Real Madrid but eventually left the club in 2015. It was an anti-climatic end to his glorious career there, with no tribute from the club for him. He left on a free transfer to Porto that same year.

Before his exit, the goalkeeper faced some tough years as a player. He was snubbed as the first-choice keeper by Jose Mourinho, who also sold Kevin De Bruyne at Chelsea, in 2012-13 with problems existing between the two. Iker’s image was also tarnished due to allegations of leaking information of the dressing room.

His game time was also reduced in the next season under Carlo Ancelotti, though he did regain the spot in his last season. Due to his advanced age and controversy regarding him, Iker and Real finally parted ways. He only had a press conference to announce his departure, crying tears of sorrow at leaving the longtime club.

Iker later confirmed in an Instagram post, that he had to leave as he needed a new atmosphere and environment. He did reinforce that he wanted to one day again return to the club.

Iker Casillas is now retired and living his best life with his family. Currently, he works as a soccer commentator, but may soon join the pitch as a manager or anything else soon.