Real Madrid superstar actively seeking move to Manchester City
Published:A player of Iker Casillas’ calibre is rarely found slumped on the bench for long-periods of time, but what started out as an act of vengeance on Jose Mourinho’s part has become a long-running theme under Carlo Ancelotti for the Spanish number one.
As a result the player’s agent is actively pursuing a move away from the Bernabeu for the 152-cap keeper, with Manchester City and Arsenal both being contacted to try and thrash out a deal, something that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
Casillas’ only competitive brush with the green, green grass of a football pitch has come during Real Madrid’s Champions League campaign, as Ancelotti continues to use Diego Lopez as his starting keeper for league and cup encounters.
For a man with such a entwined history with Los Blancos – Casillas has made 476 appearances for them since 1999 – it shows just how desperate the 32-year-old is to play regular football that he’s prepared to actively seek a move away from his boyhood club.
Both Manchester City and Arsenal are obvious landing pads for the player too, with Joe Hart a well-publicised, form-induced exile from playing time of his own at the Etihad and Wojciech Szczesny constantly mooted as being below Arsenal’s required standard.
As such a decorated footballer, Casillas’ name alone would demand a big-money move with City clearly well placed to ply him with a pay-packet to rival the one he’s on at Madrid, while the Spanish captain only has to look at Mesut Ozil to see how successful a Madrid to Arsenal move can be.
However signing with the Citizens, who are 6/5 favourites to win the Premier League, seems the most likely outcome as Costel Pantilimon is a long way short of being a title-winning calibre keeper and Hart is clearly untrusted by Manuel Pellegrini.
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