Santi Cazorla returns to Real Oviedo in the Second Division

Santi Cazorla returns to Spanish football and does so to play for his soul club in the Second Division. The 38-year-old midfielder, twice European champion (2008 and 2012) with the Spanish team, has signed this Wednesday for Real Oviedo, the club of which he is a youth squad. Despite never having made his debut in the first team, Cazorla longed to retire in the capital of the Principality and has fulfilled “a dream” with his return, generating an injection of morale in the Oviedo fans.

The economic aspect has not been a problem for the signing, which has been announced on networks by the singer Melendi. Cazorla will receive the minimum salary for the category (about 91,000 euros per season). In addition, the player has decided to transfer all of his image rights to the Asturian club, in exchange for 10% of the money generated from the sale of his shirt going to the blue quarry.

“I don’t want anything from Oviedo… I feel already paid for having the opportunity to wear this shirt again and live my latest adventures close to my people”, settled the player, who will be presented next Sunday at the Carlos Tartiere, coinciding with the match against Racing de Ferrol.

Cazorla’s arrival at Real Oviedo had been brewing for some time, although the club had always maintained prudence in its statements. But once his stage at Al-Saad in Qatar came to an end and he had recovered from some physical discomfort, the player decided to take the step to try to culminate his successful career with promotion to the First Division in his team.

The Second Division will enjoy a player with an enviable career. He left Real Oviedo in 2003, when the club was going through its worst moment, in the Third Division and close to disappearing. He was recruited by Villarreal, where he made his debut in the First Division and gradually made a name for himself. In 2006, he was signed by Recreativo de Huelva, where he definitely exploded as a footballer in just one season to the point of being bought back by Villarreal in 2007 and called up by the Spanish team in 2008. From there he went to Málaga and in 2012 he made the leap to the Premier with Arsenal, who paid 20 million for him.

After giving a great performance in the Gunners, he began an ordeal of ankle problems that threatened to end his career prematurely, but in 2018 he managed to recover his level again at Villarreal. In 2020, he announced his departure to Al-Saad, where he was managed by Xavi Hernández, who defined him as “the best player he had ever trained.” In his last season he played a total of 31 games, scored 9 goals and distributed 8 assists.

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