Hierro has no regrets over acrimonious exit from Real Madrid

FORMER Real Madrid and Spain captain Fernando Hierro insists he has no regrets over his behaviour following his last game for the club.

Hierro appeared to have led a players’ revolt on the final day of last season when Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 3-1 to clinch their 29th Primera Liga title. The squad refused to make a second lap of honour and then refused to speak to reporters after the game, as a protest against the board’s decision to axe coach Vicente del Bosque, which was announced a day later.

Club president Florentino Perez was unhappy with the action and it may have been instrumental in the club’s announcement the next day that Hierro would not be offered another contract.

A month and a half later, Hierro, who remains without a club, is unrepentant, saying: “I acted as I had to act; I knew the possible consequences. What happened to the squad was more important than what would happen to Fernando Hierro. When there was a problem, they always looked to me to solve it.”

He insists he was expecting the axe, telling Marca: “I knew I wasn’t going to carry on and that’s not just the result of what happened that night. It comes from a long way back. The club wanted to make changes and they began with the captain and the coach.”