Since joining the club from Liverpool in 2009, Álvaro Arbeloa has become a hit with fans at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The defender, who supported Real Madrid as a boy, was given a huge sendoff by fans in his final home game for the club on Sunday, as a huge banner in the shape of a Real Madrid shirt was unfurled with his name and number on it.
20-odd minutes since game finished. Fans still singing Arbeloa's name with banners pic.twitter.com/ABpTBTq0zB
— Ed Malyon (@eaamalyon) 8 May 2016
With his time at the club coming to an end, he was substituted into the match against Valencia, and was even given the captain's armband.
Madrid eventually won 3-2 to keep their title hopes alive for the moment, and after the final whistle Arbeloa was thrown into the air by the rest of his team-mates, while a section of fans stayed behind to cheer his name and salute the player.
Arbeloa stated that he would be continuing his career, but was not going to stay in Spain as he did not want to play against his boyhood club for another team in La Liga.
Gerard Piqué, a man who has traded barbs with Arbeloa in the past, also had some kind words for him on his departure, saying "if they have given him a send-off like that, it is because he has deserved it. Sometimes the tone has been a bit too much and we shouldn't have done it.
"But he's had a great career with some big trophies, including the World Cup, and for wherever he goes I wish him well."
Iker Casillas, who announced his departure in a press conference, stated that the gesture for Arbeloa was great, and that "all players who play for Real Madrid deserve the same sendoff, with their team-mates and with the fans."
Via The Mirror, BeIn, Marca
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