Spanish national team manager Vicente del Bosque has said he has been surprised by the treatment of goalkeeper Iker Casillas at Real Madrid this season.
The 32-year-old stopper made only 19 appearances in La Liga after being unceremoniously dropped by former manager Jose Mourinho in January in favour of Diego Lopez.
Reports of a rift between the two emerged, and the World Cup winner was left out of the squad altogether for the final game of the season as Mourinho made one final stand before leaving to complete his move back to Chelsea.
Speaking to reporters, del Bosque said he found it difficult to believe Casillas had been dropped for such a long period.
He added: “It’s hard to believe because I’ve known him for many years and his career has always been impeccable.”
La Roja’s boss also said he hadn’t had the chance to speak to Casillas about the situation at Los Blancos, but that he had every confidence in the keeper for the friendlies against Haiti and Ireland as well as the Confederations Cup.
