Caleta-Car Opens Up: 'I Would Have Loved to Stay at Real Sociedad'

Ivan Caleta-Car’s departure from Real Sociedad marks the end of a chapter that the Croatian defender clearly wished had run longer. In a candid reflection on his time in San Sebastián, the centre-back admitted what many suspected: his heart remained at Anoeta, even as circumstances forced him toward the exit.

“Of course I would have loved to stay at Real,” Caleta-Car said, the regret evident in his words. “I liked the club and the city.” It’s a simple statement, yet it carries the weight of a player who arrived with doubts and departed with genuine affection—a trajectory that tells much about both his personal growth and Sociedad’s recent defensive struggles.

Caleta-Car’s arc at the txuriurdin was textbook redemption. He arrived amid question marks, his form initially unconvincing, but gradually transformed into a cornerstone of the backline. That evolution culminated in the Copa del Rey triumph, a silverware moment he wears with pride. It wasn’t just about defending; it was about belonging.

For Real Sociedad, his exit exposes a vulnerability. The Basque club built something solid around Caleta-Car’s late-season form, and now they must rebuild that defensive architecture without him. The club faces the unglamorous task of replacing not just a player’s minutes, but the stability and leadership he brought to a line that had wobbled dangerously at times.

Caleta-Car leaves with no bitterness, only nostalgia—the mark of a player who found something in San Sebastián beyond a contract. That’s the hardest kind of departure to process, for both player and club.