Rui Farinha / Lusa
Iker Casillas leaving the CUF Hospital, where he underwent surgery after a myocardial infarction.
Former goalkeeper of the blue and whites claims compensation of 3.7 million euros after a myocardial infarction suffered at Olival in 2019.
Former FC Porto goalkeeper and Real Madrid legend, Iker Casillastestified this Monday at the Palace of Justice as part of the process in which he demands a compensation of 3.7 million euros to the insurance company Fidelidade and FC Porto, due to inability to work following an acute myocardial infarction in May 2019, while training at Olival.
Casillas’ position is that the heart attack occurred in a work context and that this episode ended up preventing him from continuing his professional career. The Spaniard activated the work accidents regime for the same reason and requests this amount due to incapacity — amount that Fidelidade refuses to paymaintaining that the causal link between the physical effort of training and a heart attack has not been demonstrated.
Before the court, the former Spanish goalkeeper recalled the day of the incident, which began, as he described it, as “a normal day”, he says.
“Strong pressure in the chest” and “fear”
Casillas said he left his children at school and went to the FC Porto training center, where he arrived at around 9:30 am. After eating breakfast, he passed by the gym before heading to the lawn. The critical moment only occurred around 11 am, already during training.
After 30 minutes of exercising, I felt strong pressure in my chest”, recalled the archer, now 45. “I couldn’t continue training and had to lie down”, he added.
Casillas also described the moments of worry that followed, admitting he felt “fear“.
“I had difficulty breathing,” he confessed. After asking him to remain calm, doctor Nelson Puga was called, who monitored the situation until the player was transported to CUF Porto.
“I can’t run”
The episode happened when Casillas was 37 years old and ended up definitively changing the direction of his career. In court, the former goalkeeper explained that his recovery was slow and that, although he maintains some physical activity, he remains limited and that, to this day, he “can’t run”, despite going to the gym and padel tennis.
At the time of the heart attack, Casillas also had a contract with FC Porto “for another year” and wanted to continue competing with the dragon on his chest.
During the hearing, the insurance company’s defense also confronted Iker Casillas with statements made at the 2021 Web Summit, in which he described the episode as very quick, a reading contested by the former goalkeeper’s lawyer.
Also asked about participation in Real Madrid Legends games and padel tournaments, Casillas rejected any comparison with the high competition at the service of FC Porto: “These are friendly games, exhibition games. They don’t have the level and demands of professional football”, he tried to explain.
Throughout this legal dispute, FC Porto has maintained that it fulfilled its salary obligations and passes the responsibility on to the insurance company.
