The new player of the Girona Toni Villalinked to Valladolid since the age of 14, he has said goodbye to “his house” to play in Montilivi until 2025, an offer that meant “a good opportunity” for the footballer from the Castilian quarry and that he did not hesitate to “take advantage”, although he had a contract with the team in which he has played for 12 seasons until June 2023 As the Murcian attacker has pointed out, the possibility of leaving for Catalan territory has arisen in the “last days”, but it was not until yesterday afternoon when his signing for Girona became official, since , as explained by the sporting director of Real Valladolid, Fran Sanchez “Toni Villa’s departure was not contemplated”.
In this regard, he warned that, since they could not guarantee the player that his contract with the Valladolid club would be extended beyond 2023, and in the case of Toni Villa “a player who has given so much to Real Valladolid , both on and off the field”, an agreement was reached with Girona so that he could start a new stage in the Catalan entity, which will extend until 2025. “It has been an uncomfortable situation for me, because it is fucked for Toni Villa to leave – in addition to a direct rival in the fight for permanence – but I understood his position and for him it was a good professional opportunity, so the deal was accepted, although for Real Valladolid it means a very important loss”, warned Fran Sánchez during the farewell press conference of the player from Murcia.
He also assured that the arrival of Robert Kennedy, also a left winger, “was independent” and had nothing to do with Toni Villa’s departure, since, as he insisted, “he was counted on” to continue contributing his charisma as captain, his professionalism and his “humanity and values”. For his part, the player has acknowledged feeling “nervous” but with “a lot of excitement” before his new stage at Girona, but he has thanked the “trust” placed in him by the Catalan entity and hopes to return it – there in the field, contributing his work and his experience, accumulated entirely in Real Valladolid, since he has played in all its categories, since he was a cadet.
He assured that at the Spanish club he has always felt “loved, respected and valued” and acknowledged that his departure has been a “shock” for colleagues and workers of the organization “because they did not even believe that was true” his exit. “I am leaving what will always be my home happy and very proud, and I understand that it is sad for many people, but I am sure that I will return, one way or another, because I have been very good here”, he commented Toni Villa, who pointed out that Real Valladolid “has a great history, which goes beyond the players, and will continue to be great, whether one or the other are present”.
In this sense, Villa recalled his first day in the players’ Residence, and the great treatment received by all the club’s workers since he arrived, aged 14, as a child, and pointed out that “even though the farewells they are sad, in this case it means the beginning of a new path for all”. “I will be with Real Valladolid forever”, added Toni Villa, who leaves an “unbeatable” memory in the Castilian club, as a player, but above all “as a human being, always putting the group’s interest before about his own, and always with a smile, accepting the role he had to play in each case”, concluded Fran Sánchez.
