José Castro on El Larguero of Cadena SER

JOSÉ CASTRO: 'LOPETEGUI TOLD ME IT WOULD BE HARD TO FIND A BETTER PLACE TO WORK THAN HERE'

23/06/2021
The Club President was interviewed on Radiogaceta of Radio Nacional de España and El Larguera of Cadena SER

Club President José Castro was interviewed last night on two national radio stations ahead of Slovakia-Spain at La Cartuja Stadium, Seville. He went on Radiogaceta of RNE first which was recorded at San Francisco Square and Castro was optimistic about Spain's chances against the central European side to qualify for the round of 16. He then went on to speak about Sevilla FC and last season: 'We had a great season in which we broke the win record and in some moments we even had the chance to win La Liga - maybe it could have been an extraordinary season instead of a very good one. But being in the Champions League for yet another year is very important. If we manage five consecutive seasons in the Champions League that will help us achieve great things yet again.' He also spoke about Jesús Navas' absence in the national team: 'Jesús deserved it as well as other players like Suso and Jordán. But we have to respect the coach and his decisions. Navas always delivers when he plays for Spain and he has a lot of experience.'

He then was interviewed at Las Setas on El Larguero by Cadena SER. As well as reinforcing the message of positivity on the Spanish national team, he went on to speak more in depth about the Club, beginning with Monchi: 'He plays an extraordinary role in our Club. He can do so much and he has a great team supporting him. The group is so strong and we are improving things every year. That can't be down to just luck.'

The programmes were recorded at San Francisco Square and Las Setas

Castro was also asked about Julen Lopetegui: 'If there was any controversy it was at the very start with the public opinion on what had happened before, but Monchi and all of us were very clear. We supported him and he was thankful. He is so clear, concise, hard-working, and you know he will always live up to his word.' He admitted an offer was made to Julen Lopetegui by Tottenham: 'Julen rang me and told me. He said he'd received offers he'd not listened to in addition to a dizzying one from Tottenham. But he said he doesn't forget things and that he is very motivated here. We believed and believe in him, giving him a two-year contract extension, and I'm sure he will bring much more to the Club. You see his ability and leadership every day. Some coaches are more driven by economic factors but Julen is very clear that he is happy here and he even said it would be very difficult to find a better place to work than here.'

Speaking about the transfer window, Castro said that the Euros and the pandemic have a large influence: 'It's clear that all clubs have the same problems. We haven't had matchday income, sponsors have had tough years economically and Club stores have been half operational. All clubs have missed out on that money and it has been a complicated year.'