I was ‘the next Xabi Alonso’ and have £26m in career earnings but I flopped at Real Madrid and now I’m unemployed at 33
ASIER ILLARRAMENDI is now a free agent after leaving his boyhood club Real Sociedad.
The Spain international's contract with the LaLiga giants expired following the end of the 2022/23 season.
Illarramendi, 33, was expected to extend his second stay at the Estadio Reale Arena after Sociedad chiefs offered him a new contract.
But the defensive midfielder - who drew comparisons to club icon Xabi Alonso - has decided to move on to pastures new.
He said: "I never imagined getting as far as I have, there is a lot of my work behind it.
“Look how far I have come, it is not easy to get here, stay and even be captain.
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"I have done the best I could.
";I have tried to transmit the values that I learned from Aranburu and Xabi Prieto.
"I may have been wrong on occasions, but the intention was always the best and I am proud of all of that."
Illarramendi - who is understood to have made close to £26million during his career - began his footie adventure in Sociedad's academy and graduated to the first team in 2010.
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His stellar displays in the 2012-13 campaign earned him a big-money move to Real Madrid.
But he failed to make an impact at the Bernabeu and ended up leaving after two seasons.
Sociedad snapped up their academy product when Real made it clear he was surplus to requirements.
Illarramendi went on to make a further 197 appearances for his boyhood club and scored 11 goals before deciding to leave.