Casillas: "I want to be the best again"

Iker Casillas, Real Madrid's captain and regular starting goalkeeper, was interviewed at the night show "El Partido de las Doce", in the Spanish radio station Cadena Cope. The reporters were not too sharp, as they only seemed interested in going back to the "Evil Mourinho vs Almighty Casillas" debate and Iker did not fall for it. Here we recap the most relevant quotes from the conversation:

I want to be considered the best goalkeeper in the world once again, and I work hard to achieve that. My last year and a half have been complicated, as I did not play too much and had injuries. Now, I am back and I am committed to work hard to be the best once again. I think I am close to my best level, both mentally and physically.

Winning a Champions League is such a big thing that it does not matter who your rivals in the final are, as your happiness will be huge in any case. However, if I could choose, I would not like to face Atlético if we move on to the quarterfinals. They are a very hard team to beat that always cause us big trouble.

It is obvious that you analyze different possibilities when you are not playing. I have never told anyone in the club that I would leave if I did not play, but it is true that we had some conversations last summer to determine our future. Finally, we decided that I would stay in Real Madrid to start from scratch, and I am really happy about it.

Of course I would like to finish my career in Real Madrid. My contract ends in 2017, and I will be 36 by then, so speaking about an extension now makes no sense. If I am OK in 2017 and the team want me here, I will stay.

I don't think Barcelona are in an actual crisis right now. All their problems seem to be non-related to football, and they are alive in all competitions. Therefore, I don't think Messi could want to leave the club but, in any case, I would not sign him for Real Madrid.