There was a time when Pedro León (Mula, November 24, 1986) was where Dani Olmo was until a while ago, unable to be registered with his club, Getafe, due to the demands of LaLiga’s financial fair play. He did not receive the government bailout and had to stay half the 2014-15 season without playing. Ten years after that episode, one more shock in a career full of noise, shine and conflicts, the talented midfielder takes his last steps in the same team that saw him debut in the elite, Murcia, today in Primera RFEF: « It was in January 2005, against Lleida, I was 18 years old and they beat us; “It wasn’t a good debut,” he says. -And it turns out that León is not his last name.-No. It’s my middle name. In my father’s family we all have them because of my grandfather, who was called that. My father’s name is like me, my uncle Antonio León is like my little brother, then my brother Luis León, who was a cyclist, and another brother who died also named León. My father told my mother to give her whatever name she wanted, but that the second one had to be León. -His brother Luis León retired a little over a year ago. Too much effort to choose cycling, right? -Yes, I also became a member of the federation, even for several years shared with football. My brother is now someone else without being a professional. It has been an example and a mirror. There are still times when we go out together on bicycles. -But you quickly turned towards the ball and attracting attention. -From Muleño, my town’s team, they called me from Alcantarilla and in the last year of youth I was signed by Murcia. Real Madrid had called me before, but they made me wait to make their squad. And everything was fine until the promotion season to Primera, suddenly, Lucas Alcaraz stopped counting on me in the second round. That was the reason for my departure from the club in 2007, despite being promoted. Alcaraz was going to continue and I thought it would be detrimental to stay. It hurt me a lot and I still have resentment towards Lucas because he didn’t deserve it. I don’t think it was a sports issue, I didn’t understand it. It was a hard blow, but also the right decision. Related News standard No A disgusting plague of mice invades the stadium and facilities of Manchester United AL Menéndez In December, Premier inspectors found excrement and remains of rodents in a food stand and a VIP room at Old Trafford – Levante also found problems. – It was an interesting project, but the first month the owner leaves, a debt appears, we don’t get paid, some leave. There were strikes, we went into bankruptcy… in the end the club was dismantled. And Mendilíbar appears, he signs me for Valladolid and my career takes a brutal turn. Getafe arrives and pays a clause of more than six million euros for me. There was a good mix of young people and veterans where Míchel’s style made me feel very good. We finished sixth! -And then Real Madrid arrived. -Manchester City, Chelsea wanted me, we were in talks, but as soon as Real Madrid appeared I stopped everything. It was a matter of going there no matter what. He paid ten million, unthinkable. It’s another level. I doubt that another club has its magnitude. -And again problems with a coach. Mourinho and his famous “it seems like you are asking me about Zidane or Maradona, when Pedro León was playing for Getafe two months ago” and “if the Real Madrid plane crashes and you are at home, you won’t play the next game either.” -It was different from the situation experienced with Alcaraz, because with Murcia he had shown that he could play, that he had done well, but with Mourinho everything was different. At first, the first few months, everything went very well, but then it suddenly went wrong. He hadn’t been able to prove anything yet. In addition, everything was more media.-What really happened between you?-I don’t know. I still don’t know the reasons. I insist that in the first months I felt important, although I was not a starter; He came out for minutes and could contribute. Afterwards, whatever I did, nothing. What’s more, in the winter market, the two English teams came back for me, and Mourinho gave me confidence, talked to me, promised me more minutes and more games so that I wouldn’t leave… and in the end I play less. I still can’t find logical explanations for Mourinho’s disdain for me. -I couldn’t continue with him. -It was clear that summer that I had to leave, but I didn’t get the same offers as the previous year or in the winter, because I had just not played. In the end I decided to return to Getafe, on loan, to rediscover my game. -Your best years? -Possibly yes. It has been the team of my football career. It changed my life sportingly and that’s where I became a footballer. I feel loved, fulfilled, for the first time with a sense of belonging. -And when Getafe definitively takes over its federative rights, they don’t let it play through financial fair play. As almost happened to Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor. But the Government did not forgive you and you spent months without a file. – They were hard times. Both the club and I were on the sidelines of everything. I started this thing about salary control and the limit, but I don’t like to remember it. -On an emotional and professional level, does an experience like this make you stronger? -It is difficult to live through something like this, without knowing what is going to happen, without feeling guilty because you have not done anything. You never know when you’re going to play again and that’s the problem. It’s difficult to motivate yourself for everyday life, for training, knowing that you can’t jump on the grass. -Did that story leave anything good behind? -The locker room. It was amazing and they helped me a lot. They gave me a better time than I would have done being alone. Everyone supported me. -Mendilíbar returns to his aid. -Yes, he convinces me and I finish five years in Eibar. It was a complicated time on a family level, with my children very young, my wife pregnant, but he called me and I didn’t think about it. He has been the most important technician of my career and a friend. We have a very close relationship, he is more than a coach. We also share a love for cycling, although what he is very good at is Basque pelota. -Then injuries, return to Madrid to Fuenlabrada and return to Murcia, but to federated football. -I did not plan to return, but my contract at Fuenla ended and Real Murcia was promoted to Primera RFEF. They explain the project to me, its seriousness, the need to move up, and I consider finishing my degree here. -I wasn’t planning on coming back! -When I left Levante, yes, but with the events that the club had experienced, non-payments and other stories, I didn’t want to return. Here the players are not millionaires and I didn’t feel like going to a team to fight with people so that my teammates could get paid. I had never considered playing in the third category, but coming back to help was a feeling of responsibility and relief. Everything I have been able to do for this club, I have done. -Do you see retirement close? -I know that I am old and that this has a beginning and an end, but I don’t think about it, only about getting the promotion. I have the goal of returning to professional football, but I know that it is not easy if things are not done well. Later, if I continue with enthusiasm, we will see. – Will he continue in football? – I don’t see myself staying away from him. Football has given me everything, I am still passionate about it. Going to see youth games, at the bases… it’s going to be difficult for me to leave it out of my life. -Her daughter follows in her footsteps.-Until she arrived in Murcia, she was never interested in football, but here she plays and even though I have never said anything to her, it comes out of her. I like that he has that enthusiasm, that desire, that he wants to understand football. Your effort excites me. -Do you regret anything? -Nothing. If I were to experience the same thing again, I would have decided the same as I did. The decisions I made were never lightly, they were highly motivated. I can never say no to my two royals.
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