Argentine striker Lucas Ocampos said goodbye to Sevilla on Tuesday in tears, after his transfer to Rayados de Monterrey, and with the feeling of having “lived in something that is more than a club” and that his five years in the Andalusian capital have meant “more than just a step through an institution.”
Ocampos, accompanied by his wife and two daughters, said in the box at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium that he is leaving “a Sevilla fan for life” having experienced during his time at the Seville club “moments that will never be erased from my mind, good and bad moments, like the current one.”
Regarding the current situation of the team with which he has played 208 games, with 44 goals and 22 assists, since his arrival in 2019, the international with the Albiceleste advised “to be united” and asked for “confidence in the people” because he is “sure that the players will reverse this situation”, for which he also has “full confidence in the coach”, Xavi García Pimienta.
The versatile Argentine player, who arrived from Olympique de Marseille, stressed that he knows, from being “in the dressing room, who leads and who doesn’t” in the current Sevilla team and assured that “the people who are there have personality and will pull the cart so that this doesn’t sink” despite the bad start to the season.
The winger, winner of two Europa League trophies with Sevilla (2020 and 2023), considered that, “at 30 years old, the Rayados option came up” and that his transfer also serves to “leave some” money in the club’s coffers when he faces his last contract campaign, since he wanted to “leave well” from the entity.
He also explained that he is leaving for Mexico “to continue competing” in what has been “a family and personal decision,” which he said has left “all parties happy, although it was not easy.”
“I feel proud of everyone who makes up this club. I am saying goodbye after five years at a club that has been a family. I cannot put into words how difficult it is to say these words. I thank Monchi for having believed in me, all the coaches; Mendilibar for putting a smile on my face after a few difficult months at Ajax and Lopetegui, who was a father to me,” said Ocampos.
The Rayados player said he had “fully enjoyed every last game with Sevilla”, where he was “one hundred percent happy, even in the bad times”, since he arrived “as a young man of 25 years” and here he had “the honour and responsibility of wearing the captain’s armband”.
“I leave half my heart in this institution for which I gave everything,” concluded the Argentine, who was accompanied by the president of Sevilla, José María del Nido Carrasco, his vice president, José Castro, the captain Jesús Navas and several players from the current squad.
At the event, Ocampos could not help but shed tears when a video was shown of his best moments as a Sevilla player and he was also moved by the farewell messages that have been sent by former teammates such as the Moroccan Bono, Escudero, the Brazilian Fernando, the Croatian Rakitic or his compatriots Banega, Acuña, Mudo Vázquez or Papu Gómez, among others.
Video Lucas Ocampos: The player who took a penalty without looking in a European final
The Argentinean took an unconsidered penalty in the European Super Cup final and left Neuer completely confused.
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