'There will come a day when I retire - for now, relax' - Casillas quashes retirement rumours

Iker Casillas has dispelled rumours that he is set to retire from football following a heart attack during a Porto training session.

The 37-year-old goalkeeper was rushed to hospital on May 1 after suffering a heart attack during a routine training session with the Portuguese side, with his club confirming he “suffered an acute myocardial infarction”.

The former Real Madrid man left hospital five days later and told Spanish press “I don’t know what will happen in the future”, before going on to add that he was “grateful” to have returned to full health.

Many expected his retirement to be announced in the coming days, and rumours swirled around early on Friday that an official statement from the goalkeeper himself was imminent.

Casillas is not done yet, however, with the Spaniard confirming via his official Twitter account that “everything is going well” and that he will be the one to call time on his career when the day comes.

“Retire? There’ll come a day when I have to retire,” he said.

“Let me announce that news when the moment comes, for now, relax.

“I had an appointment with Dr Filipe Macedo yesterday and everything is going well.

“Now that is great news I wanted to share!”

The news will come as a relief to football fans around the world, with Casillas firmly cemented as one of the game’s most iconic goalkeepers in recent years.

The former Real Madrid and Spain man has enjoyed a highly decorated career so far, lifting the World Cup in 2010 as well as the European Championship in 2008 and 2012 during Spain’s period of dominance on the international stage.

At club level, Casillas most notably guided Los Blancos to three Champions League trophies and won La Liga five times before joining Porto in July 2015 after falling down the club’s pecking order.

The Spaniard lifted his first trophies with the club in 2018 as Porto won last season’s Primeira Division and the Portuguese Super Cup, and they are still in contention this season as they sit two points behind leaders Benfica with one game remaining.