Víctor Valdés saved penalties that decided Champions. He won 21 cups with Guardiola’s Barça. He was world champion with Spain in 2010 and European champion in 2012. Five times, the best goalkeeper in the Liga.
After all that, in January 2018, he quietly hung up his gloves. No press conference. No tribute. He deleted his Instagram photos and closed the Twitter account followed by more than four million people.
He tried again, but from somewhere else. He coached the Juvenil A team at a school in Madrid and became champion. He returned to Barcelona to coach the youth teams. Eleven weeks later, after clashes with the club’s management, he left again.
He had a stint at a Third Division club in Barcelona. And after that, nothing.
There are no interviews. No photos. Not a single public clue as to where he lives or what he does today.
The best goalkeeper in Barça’s history decided that his final save would be against the spotlight. And he is still winning.