Fran García explains why he left Real Madrid: he wanted a bigger role

Some decisions don't get made overnight. Fran García's wasn't one of those either. The left back left Real Madrid this summer for Real Betis, and now that the schedule has put his former club right in front of him this Friday in LaLiga, he decided to explain in an interview with Diario AS why he walked away from the club of his life.

The explanation is straightforward: he wanted to play more. "I wanted to leave Real Madrid to have a bigger role. My playing time average there wasn't bad at all, but I wanted a different role," said the academy product, who played 110 official matches across three seasons with the first team.

García was clear about something that doesn't always get said out loud: the decision had been building for a while, it wasn't a sudden exit.

It's the best club in the world, but the decision itself had been made since last season. I was happy there, I played, I won titles you dream about since you were a kid... But I needed something else. I'm not someone who settles, if anything I demand too much of myself. I want to give my best version, keep growing, compete to be the top guy.Fran García

The math that didn't add up

What finally tipped the scale was purely numerical. Madrid added competition at left back for two summers in a row, and García did the math: with Álvaro Carreras already at the club and the arrival of Marc Cucurella from Chelsea, the picture was getting complicated for him.

"They sign Álvaro and I still end up finishing the season playing important matches, but it's the feeling... And then this year when the Cucurella thing comes up, I tell myself: there are four of us at left back now, I don't know if I'll be good enough. And on top of that, they spent fifty million on one and sixty on the other. I understand those players are going to get priority," explained the player, who joined the club at age 14, back in 2013, to play for the Cadete B team.

Despite it all, there's no resentment in his account. García stressed the affection he still has for Madrid, a club with which he won five titles across three seasons with the first team: a Champions League, a Club World Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, a League title and a Spanish Super Cup. In fact, Madrid kept a buyback option and still holds half of his transfer fee to Betis.

On what he's leaving behind, he also spoke about his bond with the fans and with the locker room, something that for him goes beyond the numbers on the field.

I always liked being there when a teammate needed it, when you can lend a hand in a rough moment and you just talk to him or listen to him. That's worth a lot, and in elite soccer it's been lost quite a bit. You focus on playing, on what happens on the field. But I consider myself a very warm person. So when people show you that kind of affection, it's something special.Fran García

Now, wearing the Betis jersey with the Champions League ahead of him, on Friday he has to return to Santiago Bernabéu, but on the other side of the field.