Rayo Vallecano signing Raul de Tomas has released a statement after his bitter move from Espanyol.
De Tomas is now training with Rayo as he won't be able to be registered until January 1.
He declared:
"he events in which I have been involved in recent weeks, force me - much to my regret - to make the following statement public. I am, by nature, in favour of discretion and I try to go as unnoticed as possible since I only consider myself another soccer player and I believe that the only interest that I really promote is what I do on the field. Still, I have to state:
"The most important thing of all: I want to express my gratitude and my respect for RCD Espanyol in the vast majority of its ranks, from the club's workers, to my teammates and, above all, to the fans that it has given me. You always show plenty of affection and solidarity that I will never forget. I will always remain indebted to each of them. During the two and a half seasons in which I have worn, with the greatest pride, the Espanyol shirt, I have tried to dedicate all my strength and my entire will to giving myself in body and something to this team, without caring about the category or situation in the table.
"The result of my effort is there present and it would be pretentious on my part to go around remembering it; It is enough for me with the consequences it has had for the good of the club and the satisfaction of its fans.
"As for those who have taken advantage of my silence to enhance their personal interests in a mean and cowardly way, also using it as a smoke screen to cover up an unfortunate managerial behaviour, they would have to answer for their actions without hiding behind me. The same as they should be the ones who explain the reason for the effort to expel me from a team that I considered my own home, launching a disproportionate campaign of personal attacks that I do not want anyone to suffer.
"I have in the esteem that Diego Catoira Mosquera and Diego Martínez Penas, current sports director and coach respectively of RCD Espanyol, deserve; their professional merits and their record precede them and amply guarantee them, I think. They will have their reasons, for having cornered me and undervalued, although I am not going to question them publicly.
"I am very clear that discipline, fidelity and obedience are basic values for any athlete, that is how they were instilled in me from a very young age and I am not going to betray them now. That is why I abide without criticism the determination of the two technicians not to count on me at all.
"I suppose that they will understand that I have tried to find a decent outlet that would allow me to continue my deepest dream, that of playing and giving my best in this sport. An illusion that I place above economic compensation, or any other type of advantage: it is in sight."
Then, just minutes after posting the statement, RdT responded to an image of Espanyol that showed the shield and the phrase 'above everything and everyone'.
"I feel more sorry for the one who had to post this message to aggrandize himself at my expense. I only see cowardice, lack of ethics and mediocrity, wanting to hide the bad management of the incompetent people who lead this great club in the offices," he wrote.
