Ignacio Camacho: «I left Real Zaragoza on bad terms»

Ignacio Camacho (Zaragoza, 1990) remains the last Aragonese footballer to wear Spain's senior shirt, called up in 2014 for matches against Belarus and Germany. On the Los Fulanos podcast, the former player reflected on his journey through Real Zaragoza's youth ranks and his controversial exit at age 15.

"I left home at 15 from Zaragoza to pursue every young footballer's dream: the top flight. I didn't leave the club on good terms," Camacho said, according to Sport. The player explained his move to Atlético Madrid was hastened after Espanyol rejected him: "After they turned me down at 15 and backed out, I told my father we couldn't go back to Zaragoza because of how my departure had been handled."

Camacho also detailed the health issues that ended his professional career in 2020. "I've had eleven operations: four on my nose, one on my hip, two on my pubis, one on my meniscus, and two on my ankle—those were catastrophic. There came a point when I had no choice but to retire," the former Zaragoza player explained, having spent two years away from Wolfsburg, his last club. His honours include a Europa League title with Atlético in 2010 and 177 league matches with Málaga.