Santi Cazorla, still playing at 40 on minimum wage after 11 surgeries to fix Achilles injury, leads boyhood club Real Oviedo back to La Liga
There was a whiff of romance in the air as Real Oviedo secured their spot in next season's La Liga thanks to Spanish football great Santi Cazorla. Cazorla scored one of Real Oviedo's three goals against Mirandes in a 3-1 extra-time victory in the second leg of the promotion playoffs for La Liga after the team had lost the first leg 1-0. Real Oviedo will be back in La Liga after 24 years, a phase which has seen them experience many lows.
Cazorla had also scored a free-kick with his weaker foot in the semi-final victory over Almeria on June 11.
'At 40 years old I think this is the greatest thing I've ever experienced,' Cazorla said. 'I've been lucky enough to experience great things with Spain and with the clubs that I've been with, winning many trophies, but nothing compares to this.'
Cazorla, who has won two European championships with Spain, is now 40 years of age and is playing on minimum wage allowed under La Liga rules (€90,000 a year) — after turning down a eyewatering pay cheque — at the club whose academy ranks created him.
'Thankfully, I've had a successful career, so the last thing I wanted was to be a weight on my club,' Cazorla was quoted as saying by The Athletic. 'I'm delighted with these conditions — I'd play for free, but the regulations must be respected. Returning here to Oviedo, where I dreamed of playing as a kid, was in my mind for a long time. Now I'm back, trying to help where I can.'
Cazorla's presence on the pitch is miraculous in itself: the former Arsenal playmaker had suffered an Achilles injury in October 2016 which needed him to undergo 11 operations to finally fix the problem. At one stage, one botched procedure led to gangrene and doctors had informed Cazorla that he should forget playing football and should be happy to just be able to walk again. He was away from the sport for 636 days in the middle.
Cazorla played for Real Oviedo's youth academy. But before he could play for its first team, he had to leave in 2003 because of the club's financial troubles. He played clubs like Villarreal, Malaga, Arsenal, Al-Sadd in Qatar, before making an emotional comeback to Oviedo in 2023.
Real Oviedo had been in the second division since 2015-16, and spent a few seasons in the third tier before that.
The club faced dire financial crisis in 2012. That's when a fundraising campaign raised the €2million to save it. Cazorla and former Oviedo youth team player Juan Mata were among those to contribute.
(With inputs from AP)
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