A now former Real Madrid star Joselu has announced his departure from the Spanish club with an emotional letter shared on social media.
Despite spending one season at Madrid, Joselu warmed the hearts of fans with impressive performances whenever he’s called upon.
Joselu formed part of a treble-winning squad in 2023/2024 and Madrid looked certain to buy him outright for $1.6 million (€1.5 million) and keep him around.
However, the arrival of Kylian Mbappe and Endrick at the club means Joselu will have to leave for a new adventure. Madrid still exercised its right to buy the striker, but he now been sold on to Al Gharafa in the Qatar Stars League.
In the open letter, Joselu started by writing that “thank you” is “the best word and the most appropriate to express everything I feel at this moment, in which emotion and nerves hardly allow me to write”.
“Thank you Real Madrid for everything you have made me feel throughout my life. Outside and inside. Inside and outside.
“Thank you for what you taught me as a kid; Thank you for having given me so many examples of greatness and humility at the same time. Thank you for keeping my dream alive and making it come true,” a product of the La Fabrica academy wrote.
Joselu celebrates with the trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League 2023/24 final (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Joselu said thank you individually to President Florentino Perez, club CEO Jose Angel Sanchez, and “each and every one of the employees of the largest and most exemplary club”.
“Thank you coach for your way of understanding this game,” he also wrote to Carlo Ancelotti and the team “for my being my family”.
“Thank you fans for so much passion, so much affection and that complicity that made us fly.
“Years ago I left but I never left. Today I’m also leaving but I’m actually staying. Thank you,” Joselu concluded.
Joselu will forever be remembered for his late double in last season’s Champions League semifinal second leg clash against Bayern Munich.
With Alphonso Davies coming off the bench and stunning the Bernabeu with a thunderous strike that put the Bavarians 1-0 up on the night and 3-2 ahead on aggregate, it seemed that all was lost as the match clock ran down to full time.
In the 88th and 91st minutes, however, the Espanyol loanee struck a stunning brace which booked Carlo Ancelotti’s men’s place in a Wembley final against Bayern’s domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund.
