Ezequiel Garay has claimed leaving that Real Madrid for Benfica in 2011 was the best decision of his career.

Garay was tipped for big things when Madrid plucked the centre-back from Racing Santander in 2008, but under Jose Mourinho he fell out of favour and eventually left for Estadio da Luz.

At Benfica he established himself as a first-team regular to help his chances on the international stage with Argentina, before moving on to Zenit three years later.

Now at Valencia following a close-season move, Garay has been reflecting on his last spell in Spain and is adamant leaving Madrid was crucial.

  Entrenando ya con el grupo. ¡Así si! #G24 #amuntvalencia A photo posted by Ezequiel Garay (@ezequielgaray24) on Oct 5, 2016 at 2:46am PDT

"I respect Real Madrid as an institution," he told El Desmarque. "But I still say that the best decision of my career was getting out of the club, because a footballer likes to play and I did not. 

"I do not regret leaving there as the three years I spent at Benfica after leaving Real were spectacular.

"At Benfica I had my best years as a player. I was very happy, I won important things.

"We played two finals followed by the Europa League [final] and got places that the club had never been."