According to El País, Casillas' father recalled his upbringing, and Casillas himself once spoke about struggling to afford gloves in his early days.

Casillas joined Real Madrid at 18 and left an indelible mark on the club. He will never forget his debut at San Mamés and remained with Real Madrid until age 34.

Casillas' parents, José Luis Casillas and María del Carmen Fernández, recalled his childhood in an El País report. José Luis said: "My friends told me, 'José, what a talented kid; take him to Real Madrid.' So I did. The club had him play in a youth league. He played for a team called Losada, and two months later, he was taken to France for a youth tournament. The team made it all the way to the final against Benfica. They ended up losing on penalties!"

As a child, Casillas had to balance football with his studies. José Luis recalled: "He earned 'excellent' grades in primary school and 'good' marks in his first year of secondary school... Later, he started traveling frequently, but he still completed his third year of secondary education."

Casillas had enrolled in business administration, but his father said at the time: "I don't know if he'll be able to finish it later." As it turned out, Casillas never completed a university degree.

Casillas' childhood was not easy, as his family faced significant financial difficulties. During a discussion with goalkeepers from Real Madrid's academy, "La Fábrica," he spoke about his experiences during youth training.

Casillas said: "I played on dirt pitches and came home covered in mud." This displeased his mother, and he recounted: "She often scolded me because my shoes were unbelievably dirty."

Casillas, now president of Kings League team 1K, also revealed that when he first started playing, he "didn't even have money to buy goalkeeper gloves." He said: "In fact, it was my father who took my gloves and patched them up layer by layer on the palms."

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