Lucas Vazquez was interviewed by Juanma Castaño on Radio Corbe's "El Partidazo" program, looking back on his career and his experience leaving Real Madrid. The player, now at Bayer Leverkusen, talks about his new phase in Germany, the reasons for his farewell and reveals some secrets from his years in Los Blancos' dressing room, including the origin of his nickname "Kafox".

Regarding the nickname that compared him to the legendary Brazilian full-back Cafu, Vazquez laughed and admitted that although full-back was not his original position, he accepted it with humor. "People do call me Kafox in the dressing room and on the street," he commented, admitting that although he initially didn't want to play full-back, he liked the nickname. "I prefer to play as a striker," he once said to Zidane, but the coach convinced him: "I know, but here you can do very well." A dressing room made up of ordinary people

When asked whether Real Madrid's dressing room is as complicated as it seems, Vazquez denied it: "We are ordinary people who like to do ordinary things and talk about ordinary topics. I am very happy," he affirmed. As he explains, daily life leads to "very good chats" about various topics such as "games, current affairs or politics" and they take advantage of the opportunity to spend time with "people from all over the world".

He also recalled the motivation of sharing a dressing room with stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos, which Vazquez defined by "their work culture." Still, Vázquez admits that getting along has not always been easy and that there have been many "tense moments" and that there may have been times when he had to separate certain teammates in arguments.

The penalty that created the legend

One of the most iconic moments in Vazquez's career was the first penalty kick in Milan's Champions League final penalty shootout. Vazquez revealed how it happened. "I finished the game with a lot of confidence and felt good in the final and I said, 'Well, I'm confident I can make the free throw,'" he recounted. It was he who took the initiative to approach Zidane and asked to take the penalty: "I said to him: 'I want to take the penalty', and they told me, OK, perfect."

The calm scene of Vazquez walking to the penalty spot while bumping the ball is iconic for Real Madrid fans. "It was also an instinctive reaction, not a premeditated reaction," explained the player, who assured that he was "really calm" at that moment and that it was his way of proving to himself that he was "confident to score the penalty".

Farewell moment

Regarding Vazquez leaving Real Madrid, he admitted that it was a carefully considered decision. "It's something that's been on my mind for a long time. I didn't want to leave, but I thought it was time, or a good time for me to leave," he explained. Vázquez feels, like other teammates, that "almost everyone has that moment where they say, 'I guess the best thing now is for me to leave.'" Although he doesn't consider himself a legend, his numbers are historic: more than 400 games and glorious honors. "These are very, very good figures, very, very good honours, and I am very happy about it all. My career at Real Madrid has been amazing," he concluded. Finally, he thanked the club for their treatment of him on his farewell: "The way the club has always treated me has been outstanding."