Nacho: I laid the flag for Real Madrid fans, not to offend anyone

Diplomatic response to Wednesday's scenes

Posted Friday, May 12, 2017 by Marca.com

In scenes reminiscent of Koke planting the Atletico Madrid flag at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in 2014, Nacho returned the favour on Wednesday night but insisted it was not done to offend.

On the last night of European football at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, Real Madrid claimed a 4-2 aggregate win and Nacho led the celebrations on the pitch afterwards.

"I did it for the Madridistas, because they deserved it for having come to support us," stated the defender. "Not to offend anyone."

It has been an excellent season for Fernandez, who admits that he suffered during a number of years on the fringes of the squad.

"I have always been sincere, Madrid is my home where I am happy," he noted.

"But every summer we take stock, the past and the previous seasons were complicated because I wanted to play more, and I knew it was complicated.

"In my mind I had given everything for Real, although there were doubts. Now I am lucky to have taken this decision [to stay] and hopefully every year is like this."

Stuck on the bench at the Calderon, the Spaniard made clear that he is happy at Real and brought up the pineapple emoji used by Lucas Vazquez to symbolise the team's high morale.

"Of course I would like to have played yesterday, but it is normal to not always be on the pitch," Nacho added. "The relationship across the dressing room is spectacular, and thanks to the manager we are doing great things because every individual is very important to a team.

"If you are not a team and a pineapple like us, it is impossible to win what we have won."