Now 41 years of age, Joaquín is getting ever closer to calling it quits on his career as a footballer, which has been entirely spent in Spain barring a two year spell at Fiorentina.
It started off at Real Betis, which he returned to in 2015, and has made 456 appearances for over the years, scoring 62 goals and assisting another 44, and there was a time when he could have gone to Chelsea.
José Mourinho was the man in charge at Stamford Bridge at the time, during his first spell, and the Portuguese manager wanted to work with the winger, then in the early stages of his career.
The two met again on Thursday night in the Europa League, and despite Real Betis winning 2-1, the manager and the player shared a hug, showing their mutual respect despite Joaquín turning down the opportunity to go to Chelsea.
He explained the whole thing to COPE: “It’s a mutual admiration. Every time we meet, it’s a very nice admiration. Something to be proud of. Those of us who continue to do it out of love for what we feel, in my case Betis. When I started, he wanted me at Chelsea, but I was very young, with little experience.
“At all times he was respectful of my decision. He congratulated me because I continue to maintain that quality. Personally, it’s very nice.”
Joaquín was linked with a move to England a number of times in his career, with Chelsea certainly among his admirers, but it seems his love for Betis, even if he did spend many years at Valencia, was clearly always his first thought when deciding about his future.
He’s made a very decent career from it, including picking up 52 caps for Spain, scoring four goals for his country along the way.
