Donaueschingen (Germany), Jun 29 (EFE).- During Euro 2024, the first major tournament that Joselu Mato has played with the national team at 34 years of age, he has made the most difficult decision of his life, to give up his great dream. He is leaving Real Madrid in search of new challenges and a secure future in Qatar. Nothing can distract him from his date with Georgia and before that, in a demonstration of what is in the air inside, he praises the player who leaves him on the bench: “Morata would be a world star in another national team.”
For Joselu, the best of his career has come in the final stretch. A year ago he did not believe the door that was opening to return to Real Madrid. 18 goals later, after savoring the gift of dressing up as a hero with a double against Bayern that qualified for the ‘Champions’ final, after going from celebrating the fourteenth in the stands to starring on the field in the fifteenth, he feels that it is the moment of a difficult goodbye and heads towards Al-Gharafa.
He explains his reasons in an interview with EFE. Comfortable in the conversation, natural, with the tranquility of someone who has taken a weight off their shoulders with a difficult decision and feeling like a job well done. It took him to the Euro Cup, where he asks for restraint with Spain, focusing on the round of 16 and without thinking about Germany, France or Portugal on the most difficult path to glory.
Question: How does a true Real Madrid fan explain his decision to leave Real Madrid with a one-year contract proposal?
Answer: The time has come, I simply thank Real Madrid for the best year of my life. I have more than fulfilled the dream of playing for the team of my life, since I was little, scoring goals at the Bernabéu, winning titles. It has been a very complicated decision, a lot of time thinking about it and in the end we consider it to be the best option. It is very thoughtful with my family and the people around me. It took me a long time to take it, but it is the right one.
Q: Is it more important for the sporting aspect due to the difficulty of playing for Real Madrid with the arrival of Mbappé and Endrick, or is it more important for the financial aspect due to an offer that is too hard to refuse at 34 years old?
A: I want to continue competing and I have the opportunity to sign almost three years in a league like Qatar, which is very competitive, is signing players with a presence at the European level, it is a league that is growing and I have the feeling of continuing to compete. It is clear that at my age, securing this contract is important for my children’s future. It is a city where my children can grow up very well and it was important to make a decision about my family.
Q: Let’s go back a year in time. Your cell phone rings with your representative’s name on the screen. He tells her that she loves Real Madrid. Do you believe it?
A: I didn’t believe it. It all happened after the tragic relegation with Espanyol, I didn’t have any information before, no matter how much was said out there. A few days later I receive that call. It is an option that I honestly did not contemplate being able to go ahead with and when it gets underway it is the dream of any Real Madrid fan. Very proud of everything that got me there.
Q: You went from experiencing the conquest of the fourteenth in the stands to starring in the fifteenth on the field, also with two key goals for access to the final against Bayern.
A: I have considered myself a Real Madrid fan since I was a child and the opportunity I had to play for Madrid and experience those moments is something I will never forget in my career. Those two goals took us to another final to win the Champions League and they are very special moments, but I remember them all. From the first day I stepped foot in Valdebebas at my presentation, the first day I returned to play at the Bernabéu, playing again with the best in the world… that is priceless. I will remember it all my life as the best moment of my career.
Q: In your goodbye, who are you most grateful to?
A: I am grateful to President Florentino Pérez and José Ángel because they were key to my return, to my representative and to my wife, who has been at the foot of the canyon every day. They are very important people in my life who have made it possible for me to fulfill my dream.
Q: Is Ancelotti now among the top coaches you’ve had?
A: I have had many and there are different moments in a career that are important depending on the coach. Toril was the one who gave me the opportunity at Castilla to experience promotion and have an incredible year that encouraged me to play in the First Division, Mourinho made me debut in the First Division. Ancelotti has been a fundamental piece for the performance I have had this year, the confidence he has given me, and Luis de la Fuente is another phenomenon who gave me the opportunity to play with the senior team and now experience a European Championship.
Q: Weren’t you motivated to compete with Mbappé and Endrick?
A: It wasn’t about competing, I knew that great players were coming with an immense football career and that with the signing of Mbappé and Endrick it was my time to be able to leave. The club is in the hands of great footballers, in a process of growth and of players whose most veteran players are also leaving. The best club in the world has always surrounded itself with the best and they will surely continue to make history.
Q: The dynamic in the Spanish team is so positive that Nacho and Joselu have signed in the middle of the Euro Cup with other teams without there being any fire. In another era he would have gotten involved in the middle of the competition…
A: But I think we are in a difficult transfer window for some players. I am not the only one who is going through this situation at the moment and you have to be professional, understand all kinds of situations that players face. Despite everything that has happened, I have fulfilled my role these days, I have given my all for my team and my goal is to win the European Championship. The day-to-day life in the national team is very good and it does not have to affect our performance.
Q: Have you managed to make it not affect it?
A: Not at all, we have had an incredible group stage, the entire group has been at one hundred percent, we have all participated giving the maximum that each one had and with the goal of being in the second round.
Q: Do you understand that there are people who do not understand your decision and are surprised by Kroos’ departure in the best year of his career or Nacho’s departure after the season in which he has played the most?
A: Surely not many people understand my situation, but they are decisions that one has to make. It has not been easy at all, I have seen my wife very affected because what we have experienced this year we had never experienced in our lives, but we believed that it was the time and the desire to continue competing, seeing that in Qatar there are great team signings Europeans is what catches my attention right now.
Q: This season you set yourself the challenge of improving on last year’s 17 goals and you managed to score 18. What grade do you give yourself for the season?
A: I give myself a high grade, in the end it is not easy to score 18 goals at Real Madrid and the grade has to be high for the entire squad by winning three titles. Personally, I think I have had a very good season and let’s hope it can end in the best way by winning the European Championship.
Q: Why aren’t the big stars shining in the Euro Cup?
A: We can’t be complacent, the difficult matches are coming now, they are life and death, and it is clear that the players with great quality will surely give their all in their matches. Our day-to-day routine is very good and we focus on ourselves. We have a rather difficult side of the team, but the mentality we have is very good.
Q: What did you think when no one placed Spain among the favorites?
A: Time will tell, we were thinking about doing our job, fulfilling the first objective, which was to reach the last 16. Other teams’ objective was to look much further ahead, but the most important thing for us was to take it game by game. We had a very good group stage and we are only focused on the last 16. Whatever comes later, will come.
Q: How do you assume the role you are having to play?
A: Well, the important thing is the opportunity to be here. I know that I contribute from my side. All the players are important, the coach tells us that every day. It is not important right now to see who plays more and who plays less. We are a group that is united in everything and we are prepared to go onto the field and decide the match or not.
Q: It’s good to see that Luis de la Fuente’s way of thinking has taken hold and that everyone defends it. It seems that there are no egos inside.
A: No, the truth is that it’s a very healthy atmosphere. We all joke around with each other, we joke around and tease each other, no one stands out more than the other. The most important thing in a competition like the Euro Cup, which is so long, is the day-to-day, getting along and having a good atmosphere.
Q: Does anyone play better than Spain?
A: We have played some very good football, with some less spectacular moments than others, but our idea is what it is and we will continue to stick to it. Now the real matches are coming and we will try to win as many games as possible with our philosophy and our weapons.
Q: From within, Álvaro Morata is being pointed to as the captain of the team, with a very strong leadership. From outside, it doesn’t seem that way.
A: I have known Morata for many years and it is a privilege to be able to play with him. We were together for two years at Castilla and sharing the lead with him in the national team fills me with pride for the relationship we have had during all these years. I think that everything he has done for his team is valued very little, his numbers are at the level where he would surely be a world star in another team, for us he is. He is a great captain, person, friend, footballer as he demonstrates on a daily basis and he gives the impression that he has to score 40 or 50 goals per season to be valued more. We are delighted with him and it is an honor to play with him. From within he can assure that he is a leader who is leading us on the right path.
Q: Can so much favoritism against Georgia be negative and thinking that they were beaten a few months ago?
Q: No way, no way, we know that it’s going to be a completely different match to the qualifiers. They are life or death matches, they want to qualify for the quarter-finals and the mentality has to be the same. It’s going to be a very difficult match because they have very dangerous players, especially on the counter-attack and we know how difficult it is to play in the last 16 of a European Championship. Anything can happen in one match, there are great teams that have made it to the last 16 and you can’t trust what has happened. Now people are much more mentally prepared because they know that if they lose they will go home and the European Championship is going to be very difficult.
Q: Spain couldn’t have been more fortunate after winning everything in a very difficult group. Germany, France, Portugal…
A: We like to play against the best. In the end, to win a European Championship you have to eliminate the best and that is the path we have to follow.
Q: Germany appears to be the biggest challenge in a European Championship in your country.
A: Our first challenge is Georgia. That is the biggest challenge.
Roberto Morales
