Benito talks about retirement from Real Madrid due to injury: nine surgeries on the same leg, it really messed up

Alvaro Benito, a former Real Madrid player who played for the team from 1995 to 2003, was later forced to retire due to injury. In his personal documentary "Scars", Benito reviews the difficult journey he has experienced since he suffered a serious knee injury during the U21 match for Spain on November 12, 1996.

"Now I know what happened at that time: they screwed up... they really screwed up." Benito said of that meniscus surgery, which eventually led to the early end of his career.

Now the lead singer of the band and as football commentator on Movistar+ and Serre Radio, Benito shared in the documentary: "Because there is no meniscus, after the training is restarted, the area gradually closed until the bones start to rub directly."

Del Coral, Benito's friend and medical director of Real Madrid from 1996 to 2009, explained: "The pain did not stop him from playing football or performing sports at Real Madrid, but made him unable to live a normal life."

After nine surgeries on the same knee, Benito decided to retire with his boots. "When I decided to retire, I told myself that this leg would not ruin my life anymore. I ignored it and just did the necessary care so that it could accompany me to the end of my life. Maybe it would take a step before me because I might need to install a prosthetic."

Benito mentioned in an interview with Sell Radio: "These nine surgeries were all for the same leg. The problem is that if you tore the meniscus at that time, the doctor would remove it. And for me, because the meniscus was removed, the bones began to contact directly, and the cartilage became fragile in an instant."

Benito underwent a knee transplant in the United States. "This triggered three additional surgeries. Since the joint cavity was already very narrow, the doctor had to remove a part from the other side of the tibia to change the axis and open up space to accommodate the new meniscus. What a big project..."