Real Madrid Transfer News: Fabio Coentrao Speaks After Blancos Exit

Fabio Coentrao has spoken to the press for the first time since leaving Real Madrid for Rio Ave, explaining how he waited for Sporting to make a move until the last minute and how he's content to sacrifice money for happiness.

Speaking to Record (h/t AS), Coentrao didn't hide his frustration with Sporting, where he spent the 2017-18 season on loan:

"I've waited until deadline day to receive contact from the club for whom I gave everything last season and I have not received no single phone call. It's sad.

"After all of this, I felt what I really needed was to be happy; I have lost a lot of money to join a club who were upfront and honest with me, and achieve happiness. The reality is that no amount of money can buy happiness. I was born poor, so why should I care if I die poor?"

As reported by Goal's Joe Wright, Real agreed to terminate Coentrao's contract early so the full-back could make the move to Rio Ave. 

The move brought an end to one of the most peculiar transfer sagas of recent years. Coentrao had officially been on the books at Real since 2011, but the Portuguese hadn't made an impact for the club in some time.

He was something of a forgotten man this summer, to the point where many were surprised to learn he had still been with the club all this time:

Coentrao came up through the Rio Ave youth system and had a spell with Benfica before moving to the Spanish capital. He was a key player in his early days with Los Blancos, but his playing time dropped drastically due to a series of injuries. In his absence, Marcelo established himself as perhaps the best player in the world at the left-back position.

The loan move to Sporting didn't do much good, as Benfica's rivals were in complete turmoil for much of the 2017-18 campaign. As explained by Bleacher Report's Marcus Alves, things got so bad the Lions' own fans staged an attack on the squad, with many believing president Bruno de Carvalho was behind the move.

Coentrao wasn't expected to move to a club as small as Rio Ave, who have never won a major piece of silverware in Portugal, but a return to his roots may be just what the defender needs. With a solid run in the north of the country, the former Portugal international could rebuild his reputation, and perhaps earn a contract at a bigger club for next season.