Jose Mourinho Reached Out To Iker Casillas When It Mattered Most

Posted Monday, October 12, 2020 by thesportbible.com

They didn't see eye-to-eye at Real Madrid but Jose Mourinho was one of the first people to call Iker Casillas after hearing about his heart attack.

In May 2019, Casillas suffered a cardiac arrest in training and was immediately rushed into hospital.

Although he made a recovery after spending five days in hospital, it did prompt the World Cup winner to call time on his decorated career earlier this year.

He was subject to a whole host of wonderful messages but Casillas, whose wife Sara Carabonero also fought ovarian cancer, has revealed that despite a very public feud that saw the Spaniard dropped, his former manager was one of the first to get in touch and check in on him.

They had thrown shade at one another after their falling out but put the past behind them, with the two even sharing a hug during FIFA's congress.

"A lot of people don't know it but Jose Mourinho was one of the first people to call about me, to call me to find out how I was," Casillas told ESPN.
"I saw people I had not seen for a long time, it makes you appreciate the little things in life. You live more from day to day, you stop just being in your own little world.

"I was very lucky, other people don't have that.

"I felt that I was definitely going to die that day, and the circumstances forced me to reconsider everything. I'm a privileged person. If I can continue to play football, I will do that."

Following being forced in retirement, Casillas bowed out with a final trophy lift at FC Porto, with captain Danilo Pereira and teammates encouraging him to get up on the podium after the Portuguese Cup triumph over Benfica in August.