Antonio Sánchez has detailed his journey through professional football with his collection of tattoos.
The midfielder spoke with the club about what is means to represent his boyhood team, grow up on the island and what the future holds.
"I have always liked them aesthetically, but I have always tried to make them mean something to me personally as well,” he told club media. “It is a way to represent a particular moment or someone special, and to have it on my skin.
“I also have some that were objectives for me. I have one of Son Moix and it was a bit of a goal of mine: to play at the stadium of my city. I am a big fan of superheroes, and I especially like the ones I have tattooed on me. A superhero? My father. He always puts my family first, and for me, he is the real superhero."
Antonio Sánchez had loan spells at Barakaldo C.F and CD Mirandés before breaking into the RCD Mallorca senior side last season, and has permanently etched the significance of each experience on his skin.
“I have my first goal at professional level - it was in Miranda on my debut,” he continued. “There are good moments like the debut and the goal, but there are also complicated moments for me and I want to carry them with me forever.
"The summer of last year, I was saying: 'I do not believe it. Until I'm there, I do not believe it'. I knew that I had had a good year and that there was a chance to stay, but there was like a voice in my head, before starting pre-season, saying: 'I still do not believe it'.”
The 24-year-old has had a reference in Abdón Prats who had a similar career trajectory, having had to leave the club before returning to establish himself at his local side.
“Abdón has always been a mirror for me to look at myself in because he has a story a little similar to mine – if we forget the distances - but yes, a homegrown boy who has to go to look for a life outside of the club, but returns to be a part of history,” he added. “I was here when he scored the goal against Deportivo and there were mixed feelings after the promotion. Seeing Abdón do that, it was like a healthy envy of: ‘I wish I could have a moment like that with Mallorca at some point’. It was a beautiful moment.”
Antonio Sánchez’s LaLiga debut came against none other than Real Madrid, although he did not have to wait much longer for his first strike in the top flight as on Matchday 11 the academy graduate opened his account against Sevilla FC.
"It was my second start and my first at home, and on top of that, against a great team like Sevilla FC,” said Antonio Sánchez. “The truth is that it was also an incredible moment. The fans were screaming, I did not even know how to celebrate. I did not even know what to do. It was also incredible.
"Every day I am fulfilling a dream. One week you go to the Wanda Metropolitano, and the next Sevilla FC visits – it is fulfilling playing against the teams that I used to see on TV. It is like: 'I cannot believe it'."
"For me soccer is life. What I am now is thanks to soccer. I think that when you suffer it, when you then achieve the goal you enjoy it more. I believe that the whole team and all the people are convinced that we are going to achieve it and, when we achieve it, we will enjoy it twice as much. If I have to set myself a goal, it is to continue for many years in the First Division here, in Mallorca, and to continue enjoying the dream I am living.”
