Iker Casillas Height, Weight, Age, Family, Facts, Biography

Iker Casillas is a Spanish former professional soccer player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. At the club level, he represented Real Madrid CF (1999-2015) in Spain and FC Porto (2015-2020) in Portugal. At the international level, Iker represented Spain at the under-15, under-16, under-17, under-18, under-20, and

Iker Casillas Quick Info
Height6 ft
Weight84 kg
Date of BirthMay 20, 1981
Zodiac SignTaurus
Eye ColorAmber

Iker Casillas is a Spanish former professional soccer player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. At the club level, he represented Real Madrid CF (1999-2015) in Spain and FC Porto (2015-2020) in Portugal. At the international level, Iker represented Spain at the under-15, under-16, under-17, under-18, under-20, and under-21 tiers before making his full senior national debut in June 2000. He captained the Spanish squads that won the FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup in 2010, and the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) European Championship aka the UEFA Euro (a quadrennial continental international championship) in both 2008 and 2012. These were the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd occasions, respectively, that Spain had won these titles. In 2012, Spain became the first nation to have successfully defended the UEFA European Championship. Iker won the ‘Golden Glove’ award as the best goalkeeper at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was included in the ‘Team of the Tournament’ at the UEFA European Championship in both 2008 and 2012. He played his last senior-level international match for Spain in mid-2016 and called time on his playing career at the club level in August 2020 – after spending months on the sidelines following a heart attack during a training session with FC Porto in May 2019.

Born Name

Iker Casillas Fernández

Nick Name

San (Saint) Iker

Sun Sign

Taurus

Born Place

Móstoles, Community of Madrid, Spain

Residence

Madrid, Spain

Nationality

Spanish

Occupation

Professional Soccer Player (Retired)

Family

  • Father – José Luis Casillas (Civil Servant)
  • Mother – María del Carmen Fernández González (Hairdresser)
  • Siblings – Unai Casillas Fernández (Younger Brother) (Soccer Player (Retired))
  • Others – Irene Carbonero (Ex-Sister-in-Law), Goyi Arévalo (Ex-Mother-in-Law), Carlos Javier García Carbonero (Ex-Father-in-Law)

Shirt Number

  • 13, 1, 23 – Spain
  • 28, 27, 25, 1 – Real Madrid CF
  • 12, 1 – FC Porto

Playing Position

Goalkeeper

Net Worth

Iker Casillas’ net worth had been $40 million according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.

Build

Athletic

Height

6 ft or 183 cm

Weight

84 kg or 185 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Iker has dated –

  • Eva González (2005-2008) – Iker started dating Spanish actress, TV presenter, and beauty pageant contestant Eva González in 2005. The pair parted ways in August 2008. Eva was the winner of the Miss Spain beauty pageant in 2003, aged 22.
  • Ariadne Artiles (2009)
  • Ana Medinabeitia (2009)
  • Sara Carbonero (2009-2021) – He began dating Spanish sports journalist and TV personality Sara Carbonero in 2009. They eventually got married on March 20, 2016, and have 2 sons together named Martín Casillas Carbonero (b. January 3, 2014) and Lucas Casillas Carbonero (b. June 2, 2016). It was announced on March 12, 2021, that Iker and Sara had mutually decided to part ways after 5 years of marriage.

    • Race / Ethnicity

    Hispanic

    He is of Spanish descent.

    Hair Color

    Light Brown

    Eye Color

    Amber

    Sexual Orientation

    Straight

    Distinctive Features

    • Toned physique
    • Short-cropped, side-parted hair
    • Affable smile
    • Clean-shaven look

    Brand Endorsements

    He has been sponsored by –

    • Reebok International Limited (American fitness, footwear, and clothing brand)
    • Adidas AG (German multinational corporation that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing, and accessories)

    Iker Casillas Facts

  • When he was about 7 or 8 years old, Iker had forgotten to post his father’s soccer predictions for a particular weekend. As it turned out, his father had correctly predicted all 15 results and his family lost out on an estimated €1.2 million (£1 million) in prize money.
  • A child prodigy, Iker’s youth career began in 1990 when, as a 9-year-old, he joined Real Madrid Juvenil, the youth system of Spanish titans Real Madrid CF.
  • In 1997, he was a part of the Spanish squad that won the UEFA European Under-16 Championship for the 4th time, becoming the then-most successful team in the competition. Iker was also the youngest player of the Spanish squad that stood 3rd at the 1997 FIFA Under-17 World Championship.
  • His senior club career started in 1998 when he was promoted from Real Madrid Juvenil to Real Madrid C, a now-defunct unit that used to serve as the second reserve team of Real Madrid CF.
  • In 1999, Iker was promoted to Real Madrid Castilla which competes in the 3rd tier of the Spanish soccer league system and is the reserve team of Real Madrid CF. After just 4 appearances there, later in 1999, he was fast-tracked to the top-tier senior team of Real Madrid CF.
  • In 1999, he won the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations)-CAF (Confederation of African Football) Meridian Cup with Spain’s under-18 squad. It was Spain’s 1st such title in what was the 2nd edition of the tournament that ran from 1997 until 2007 and featured national teams (under-18 tier) from Europe and Africa. Later that year, Iker was a part of the Spanish under-20 squad that won the FIFA World Youth Championship for the 1st time ever.
  • In September 1999 (aged 18 years and 177 days), he became the then-youngest goalkeeper to have participated in a UEFA Champions League (the most prestigious club competition in European soccer) match. This record stood until October 2017.
  • Representing Real Madrid CF, he won the UEFA Champions League title in the 1999-00, 2001-02, and 2013-14 seasons. The victorious campaign in the 2013-14 season gave the club its record-extending and historic 10th title. With the club, Iker also won the UEFA Super Cup in both 2002 and 2014.
  • These were the first 2 such titles won by the club, the latter making it the joint 4th most successful team in the competition. The UEFA Super Cup (founded in 1972) is annually decided via a one-off match played between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League (the 2nd-tier club competition in European soccer).
  • With Real Madrid CF, Iker won the La Liga (the top tier of the Spanish soccer league system) title in the 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2011-12 seasons. The last of those triumphs was the club’s record-extending 32nd such title. With the club, he also won the Copa del Rey (the premier domestic knockout soccer competition in Spain) in the 2010-11 and 2013-14 seasons. The latter win was the club’s 19th such, extending its status as the 3rd most successful team in the competition. In February 2014, he had also become the first goalkeeper in history to have played in every round before the final of the Copa del Rey without conceding a goal.
  • With Real Madrid CF, Iker also won the Supercopa de España in 2001, 2003, 2008, and 2012. The win in 2012 was the club’s 9th such, extending its status as the 2nd most successful team in the competition. The Supercopa de España (founded in 1982 as a 2-team competition) has been contested since the 2019-20 season by 4 teams – the winners and runners-up of La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
  • At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he was one of the youngest first-choice goalkeepers in the tournament. He saved a penalty in regulation time and 2 more in Spain’s 3-2 shoot-out victory in the pre-quarter-final stage against Ireland. One of Iker’s saves during Spain’s quarter-final match against co-hosts South Korea was rated by FIFA as one of the ‘Top 10’ saves of all time. Spain, however, was eliminated following a shock 5-3 penalty shoot-out defeat in that match.
  • In late 2002, he was a part of the Real Madrid CF squad that won the Intercontinental Cup for the 3rd time (after previous triumphs in 1960 and 1998), becoming the joint-most successful team in the competition. The Intercontinental Cup ran from 1960 to 2004 and was contested between the winners of the UEFA Champions League (the most prestigious club competition in European soccer) and the Copa Libertadores (the most prestigious club competition in South American soccer).
  • Iker was included in the ‘UEFA Team of the Year’ 6 times (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012). As of mid-April 2023, he had held the record for the most appearances by a goalkeeper in the the ‘UEFA Team of the Year’.
  • In Spain’s quarter-final match at the 2008 UEFA European Championship, against Italy, he saved 2 penalties in a 4-2 shootout win following a goalless draw. He kept clean sheets (a term used to refer to a goalkeeping performance that prevents the opposing side from scoring even a single goal (excluding shoot-out goals) in a match) in the team’s semi-final and final victories as well – leading Spain to its first UEFA European Championship title after 1964. Iker also became the first goalkeeper-captain to have lifted this trophy.
  • He was included in the ‘ESM Team of the Year’ in 2008. The ESM (European Sports Media) is an association of soccer-related publications in Europe. Each of its members selects the 11 best players in European professional soccer leagues each month and the players who most often appear in those teams are elected into the ‘ESM Team of the Year’.
  • From 2008 until 2012, for 5 years in a row, Iker was named the ‘IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper’. As of mid-April 2023, he was tied for the most such honors with Gianluigi Buffon of Italy (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2017) and Manuel Neuer of Germany (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020). The IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) is an organization that chronicles soccer history and records.
  • In those same 5 years (2008-2012), he was included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI. As of mid-April 2023, he had held the record for the most appearances by a goalkeeper in the FIFA FIFPro World XI. FIFPro (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels) is a worldwide representative organization for more than 65,000 professional soccer players.
  • Iker was Spain’s starting goalkeeper during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup – the 8th edition of the tournament and Spain’s debut appearance. Spain finished the tournament in 3rd place. The FIFA Confederations Cup (1992-2017) used to be contested by the continental champions of Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania, and Europe, along with the current FIFA World Cup holder and the host nation. Between 2001 and 2017 (with an exception in 2003), the tournament was held in the country that would host the FIFA World Cup the following year.
  • In 2009, Iker was honored with the ‘Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit’, the 2nd-highest sporting honor accorded by the Government of Spain. In both 2009 and 2012, he was named the ‘Best Goalkeeper’ in La Liga.
  • At the 2010 edition of the FIFA World Cup, he conceded just 2 goals in 7 appearances. As of April 2023, this was the joint record for the fewest goals conceded by a goalkeeper in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup with his team going on to win the title in that edition. He shares this record with Gianluigi Buffon of Italy (2006) and Fabien Barthez of France (1998). Iker was the only one among these 3 (in these 3 specific editions of the tournament) who did not concede a single goal in the knock-out stage – Spain won all 4 of its knock-out stage matches in 2010 by an identical 1-0 margin.
  • The triumph made him just the 3rd goalkeeper to have captained a FIFA World Cup-winning squad – after Gianpiero Combi of Italy (1934) and Dino Zoff of Italy (1982). This feat was later also matched by Hugo Lloris of France in 2018. Iker’s 5 clean sheets at the 2010 FIFA World Cup was also a joint record as of April 2023 – shared with Gianluigi Buffon of Italy (2006), Oliver Kahn of Germany (2002), Fabien Barthez of France (1998), and Walter Zenga of Italy (1990).
  • In 2011, he was appointed as a ‘Goodwill Ambassador’ for ‘Millennium Development Goals’, a set of 8 international development goals that had been established by the United Nations (the world’s largest and most well-known international intergovernmental organization) in 2000.
  • Spain’s 4-0 win over Italy in the final (played on July 1, 2012) of the 2012 UEFA European Championship was the 100th senior-level international win of Iker’s career. This made him the first player to reach the milestone of 100 international wins for his country. Just like the previous (2008) edition of this tournament, he registered clean sheets in the quarter-final, semi-final, and final.
  • In June 2013, he made 3 appearances in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup – the 9th edition of the tournament and Spain’s 2nd appearance (the first was in the previous edition (2009)). Spain finished the tournament as the runner-up, losing to hosts and 4th-time champions Brazil by a 3-0 margin in the final.
  • In 2013, a street in his hometown of Móstoles was renamed ‘Avenida de Iker Casillas’ in his honor.
  • Iker was a part of the Real Madrid CF squad that won the FIFA Club World Cup title for the 1st time in 2014. The tournament involves 7 teams – the continental club champions of Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania, and Europe; and the host nation’s national champions – in a straight knock-out tournament. The final match of this tournament (played on December 20, 2014) was his 700th appearance for Real Madrid CF.
  • In 2015, Iker was honored with the ‘Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit’, the highest sporting honor accorded by the Government of Spain. In September 2015, he registered a clean sheet in his 100th game as Spain’s captain.
  • In November 2015, he registered his 100th senior-level international clean sheet with Spain, becoming the first goalkeeper ever (male or female) to have reached this landmark.
  • With FC Porto, Iker won the Primeira Liga (the top tier of the Portuguese soccer league system) title in the 2017-18 season. It was the club’s 28th such title (first since 2013), extending its status as the 2nd most successful team in the competition. With the club, he also won the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in 2018. It was the club’s first such title since 2013 and extended its record to 21 titles overall.
  • The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira is annually decided by a one-off match that is played between the winners of the Primeira Liga and the Taça de Portugal (the premier domestic knockout soccer competition in Portugal). In 2018, he won the Dragões de Ouro Award as FC Porto‘s ‘Athlete of the Year’. For his performances in the 2018-19 season, Iker was named the Primeira Liga‘s ‘Best Goalkeeper’ and was also included in the league’s ‘Team of the Season’.
  • He announced his retirement in August 2020, finishing his illustrious career with 911 appearances at the club level and 167 appearances at the senior international level – a total of 1,078 senior-level professional matches. As of April 2023, only 12 players in history had played more senior-level professional matches than Iker.
  • In December 2020, he was appointed as the deputy to the CEO of the Real Madrid Foundation, the philanthropic subsidiary of Real Madrid CF. He also runs his own charitable foundation called the Fundación Iker Casillas.
  • As of mid-April 2023, he had held the record for the 2nd-most appearances (177) and the 2nd-most victories (101) in the UEFA Champions League – only Cristiano Ronaldo was ahead of him on both counts.
  • As of mid-April 2023, Iker had also held several other records in the UEFA Champions League – most consecutive seasons played (20, 1999-00 to 2018-19); the first player in history to have reached the knockout stage 19 times (achieved in December 2018); the first goalkeeper to have won 100 matches; most clean sheets (57); the youngest goalkeeper to have played in and won the final (in May 2000, aged 19 years and 4 days); most penalty kicks saved (excluding shoot-outs) (7 out of 23); and the joint-most titles won by a goalkeeper (3).
  • At the international level, as of mid-April 2023, he had held the record for the 2nd-most appearances for Spain (167) and the 2nd-most international victories (121) – only Sergio Ramos was ahead of him on both counts.
  • Iker also held sole possession of the record for the most number of clean sheets in an international career (102) and the joint record for participating in the most editions of the FIFA World Cup by a Spanish player (4 – 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) – shared with Xavi, Andoni Zubizarreta, and Fernando Hierro. He was also the only goalkeeper to have stopped penalties (excluding shoot-outs) at 2 different editions of the FIFA World Cup – in 2002, against Ireland, and in 2010, against Paraguay.
  • As of mid-April 2023, Iker had also held several records in the UEFA European Championship aka the UEFA Euro – most minutes without conceding a goal (509 minutes in 2012); most clean sheets (9, shared with Edwin van der Sar of the Netherlands); most clean sheets in a single edition (5 in 2012, shared with Jordan Pickford of England (2020)); fewest goals conceded in a single edition (1 in 2012, shared with Gianluigi Buffon of Italy (2016), Thomas Myhre of Norway (2000), and Dino Zoff of Italy (1968)); and most saves made in penalty shoot-outs (3, shared with Gianluigi Buffon).
  • Iker had extended this aforementioned record of most minutes without conceding a goal (509) further in 2012 – in Spain’s other international matches. The streak was eventually ended at 817 minutes by Olivier Giroud – in October 2012.
  • He is a founding partner of SportBoost, a Spanish accelerator and co-investment platform for sports-tech startups.

    • Featured Image by Iker Casillas / Instagram

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