Real Oviedo, a Spanish second division club, announced on Wednesday the return of Santi Cazorla for a season.
The former Arsenal midfielder was trained in the Asturian club between 1996 and 2003. He also played for teams such as Villarreal, Malaga and he has chosen to sign to take the minimum salary of La Liga 2 ( 91,000 euros annually.)
A very romantic recruitment. Trained at Real Oviedo between 1996 and 2003, Santi Cazorla chose to return to his club to end his career and signed on Wednesday for a one-season contract. A year during which the former Villarreal, Malaga and Arsenal midfielder will receive the minimum salary possible in the Spanish second division of 91,000 euros.
His image rights fully ceded
A nice gesture for the club from Asturias, his native region, which finished 8th in the last season of Liga 2.
“The blue canterano signs for a season until June 30, 2024, receiving, at his request, the minimum salary set by LaLiga, reports Real Oviedo. In addition, the player from Lugo de Llanera cedes all his image rights to his favorite club on one condition: 10% of the sales of his shirts will be entirely devoted to investment in the training center of the Blues.”
After three seasons spent at Al-Sadd in Qatar, the double European champion with Spain has chosen to play for the first time in his career in the Spanish second division.
Having grown up in the ranks of the cantera of Oviedo, he had never had the opportunity to play with his training club, being courted from his 19 years by Villarreal. Since then, Santi Cazorla has played more than 450 matches in the elite of professional football, for a total of 33,872 minutes and a record that includes 2 Intertotos, 3 Community Shields and 2 European Cups with the Spanish national team in 81 matches as a senior international.
“When you have a dream, you have to achieve it”
“When a 9-year-old boy dreams of playing in his city, with his people, with his family, and he aims to achieve it, it’s a challenge that must be accepted. In this sense, the decision was very easy to take. A lot of people may think that I have a lot to lose and nothing to gain, but for me it’s the opposite,” the new Oviedo player said in statements provided by the club.
“At the end of the day, when you have a dream, you have to make it come true, no matter what turn of events. So I’m very happy to be back home and I hope everything goes as well as possible. I come with a positive mentality, with the desire to add value and with the aim of being an example for young players.
The academy is part of the club’s heritage and we need that it continues to grow and to be very important for Real Oviedo. I want to help this generation and, of course, the first team: to enrich itself in all areas. This is the objective with which I will start my stay at Real Oviedo”.
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