A fter a week when my neighbour had to rush his dog to the vets after he ate the Christmas lights – when the vet told the dog he would be OK, his little face lit up! – Real Mallorca’s iconic 37-year-old mid-fielder Dani Rodriguez will no longer be part of the squad when he agreed to terminate his contract after nearly eight years.
The player from Betanzos in Galicia signed an agreement to sever all ties with RCD Mallorca last Thursday and the club’s announcement stated he has agreed to forego a large portion of his remaining salary which was due to be paid until June next year. He wants the opportunity to return to playing football after our coach Jagoba Arrasate punished him for two messages posted on social media in which Dani criticised the coach.
The club included a non disclosure clause on the agreement, along with a clause which prevents him from playing against Mallorca should he sign for another La Liga club, which is fairly common practice in Spanish football. Dani has been one of the most important players in the club’s history, having achieved two promotions to La Liga and playing in a cup final in Sevilla two years ago when he scored the opening goal. His contribution to the Real Mallorca cause has seen him play 282 games scoring 32 goals and 39 assists.
It’s very hard to understand why such an iconic player had to leave this way under a cloud. Even a few minutes on the pitch to say farewell would have been so much more dignified. The punishment dished out by intransigent coach Arrasate over the last four months, refusing to allow him to play in matches with the team, although he had apologised and continued to turn up for training, was to some harsh.
He was adored by fans and as Arrasate himself commented “With this situation we’ve all lost – there are no winners.”
Nobody at the Real Mallorca hierarchy seemed to have offered him support, companionship or indeed any assistance. One comment on social media said if this incident had happened when our ex president/owner Mateu Alemany (now sporting director at At. Madrid) had been involved, the matter would have been cleared up to the satisfaction of both sides within a couple of weeks.
In an emotional speech, Dani paid tribute to all his team mates, coaching staff and employees at the club, saying “I want to thank all the club employees, kit men, physios, doctors, staff and maintenance workers. I hope they all have fond memories of me. I’ve tried to be a good professional and a good team mate and when it was my turn a good captain. I’ve learned so much from each of them about football and life.”
Mallorquinistas have a lot to thank Dani Rodriguez for but for me I’ll always remember him as our No. 14, breaking out of the Mallorca penalty box with the ball at his feet, charging towards the opposition’s 18 yard box. He was the best box to box player seen at Son Moix for many a year. His name will always be stitched into the fabric of Real Mallorca.
The club are now on their Christmas break to recharge their batteries ready for a (hopefully) much better showing in the New Year. With the transfer window opening on January 2 until February 3, it looks very likely Mallorca will be bringing in some reinforcements. At the moment there are three spaces available on the squad with a right winger being the priority.
The draw the team secured at Mestalla against Valencia (1-1) is already proving valuable. Thanks to Girona losing 0-3 to At. Madrid, Mallorca head onto the break three points clear of the relegation zone. Mallorca have the chance to be six points clear as Girona are our opponents in the first game of the New Year on Saturday, January 4 at 18:30. Mallorca must restore the confidence of the missing fans and perhaps we can get them back in Son Moix, as our last two home games had 15-16,000 in a stadium that holds over 23,000 – 20,000 of them being season ticket holders.
AND FINALLY, a man walks into a restaurant on Christmas Eve and orders squid. The waiter tells him to go to the tank and choose which squid he wants.
The customer points to a little green one with a moustache. Jervaise, the waiter, says “Oh no, you can’t have him. He’s my favourite, he’s so small and friendly, surely you’d like one of the bigger, meatier ones.”
The customer says “No, it’s got to be him.” So Jervaise gets the little green squid out and puts him on the chopping block. Raising his knife, the little squid looks up and smiles, twitching his bushy moustache in a big grin.”
“It’s no good,” says Jervaise. “I can’t do it. I’ll have to ask Hans our dishwasher, he’s a big, hard man.”
So out comes Hans while Jervaise disappears in tears. Hans lifts the knife and is about to cut the squid’s head off when it smiles up at him, twitching his little moustache. Hans can’t do the deed. The moral: Hans that do dishes is as soft as Jervaise with mild green hairy-lipped squid!