“I said ‘Where is Villarreal?’” explains Etienne Capoue, who describes it like he was scanning a map of the world and pointing his finger down.
“I was told it was in the sun, just there, next to Valencia. So I said ‘alright, let’s go’.”
Capoue’s last two games for Watford were in England’s second-tier against Norwich and Huddersfield.
On Wednesday, Villarreal, the club Capoue knew nothing about, face Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals. A small, sleepy town on Spain’s east coast now has an outside shot at being crowned kings of Europe.
He left in January 2021 and his last two games of that season for Villarreal came against Real Madrid and Manchester United. Villarreal beat United on penalties to win the Europa League final and Capoue was named man of the match.