Iker Casillas has deleted a tweet in which he announced he was coming out as gay.
The former Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper made the announcement on Twitter to his 10m followers on Sunday afternoon.
Translated, the tweet read: ‘I hope you respect me, I’m gay’.
Former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol responded to Casillas’ tweet.
Translated, it read: “It’s time to tell our story, Iker.”
Sky Sports News has contacted Stonewall for comment.
Amid suggestions that Casillas’ original tweet may have been a ‘joke’, Josh Cavallo has tweeted: “@IkerCasillas and @Carles5puyol joking and making fun out of coming out in football is disappointing. It’s a difficult journey that any LGBTQ+ ppl have to go through. To see my role models and legends of the game make fun out of coming out and my community is beyond disrespectful.”
Casillas is considered a legend of Spanish football after being capped 167 for his country and making over 700 appearance for Real Madrid.
In May, Blackpool’s Jake Daniels became the UK’s first male professional footballer to come out publicly as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990.