Iñaki Urdangarin, who will be 58 years old next January, announced this Thursday, December 11 La2CAT his first interview after being sentenced to prison for this affair Nothat This led to his separation, in 2022, from Infanta Cristina, as reflected in the interview.
The person responsible for interviewing him was the journalist Jordi Bastéin your program Pla Sequencefilmed continuously for 55 minutes, during what the presenter calls “a conversation and not an interview”.
Urdangarin speaks Catalan perfectly, as shown by his conversation, which takes place entirely in this language. He also says that he speaks English and French quite well, although his mother, Claire, Belgian, wanted to teach them but “we didn’t listen to her”. It should be remembered that Urdangarin forged his athletic career in Barcelona, where he also lived for several years with the Infanta and her four children, before settling in Washington. In total, he spent almost 38 years there.
Urdangarin recounts how he learned of the sentence: “He was in Geneva eating with Cristina. Mario Pascual (his lawyer) calls me and gives me the final sentence. They give you five days before admission. I had two children in Russia and the little ones in Geneva. “I brought back those who were in Russia.”
He says the moment he entered prison, sentenced to six years in prison, was the hardest. “The first day in prison, we realize that the defense phase is over and that a very tough phase begins. Everything is falling apart. Closing the door isolates you, you don’t have a phone at all. “I was able to make two calls and I called my mom.”
I’m not proud of the way I handled prison in the beginning. I cried a lot, a lot
“The first three months, I’m not proud of how I handled it. I went through a negative loop and worried people on the outside. I cried a lot, a lot. I don’t wish prison on anyone. “When you look back at the process that got you here, you can’t stop crying.”
Then, he explains, he changed his lifestyle. “I got up at 9 a.m., had breakfast and was in the module until 3 a.m., then I went to the sports center. I worked out from 3 to 5 a.m. I ate at 5 a.m. because the afternoon seemed very long to me. At first it was very cold, then the heating worked better. I only trained outside in the summer. I had a stationary bike that the prison supervisory judge approved for me. I created routines.
“I received many letters. I wrote – because it was recommended to me – what was happening to me. I started making notebooks and writing or I was summarizing books,” he said.
“Visits, everything that came to mind, I wrote it down. Making calls, that leaves me with 10 calls a week, for 7 minutes. You gave numbers and the phone was programmed. I couldn’t call any numbers, only the ones that gave to the prison. The officials who took care of me were very kind. They realized the loss of freedom and communication. I missed them when they went on vacation. “They realized the double punishment he was suffering.”
Urdangarín suffered the pandemic in prison. “COVID came when I was tired. Everyone was scared and that made sense. “These months have been very hard.”
“I couldn’t have many visits from friends. My family is very big. The priority was Cristina and my children. Then the rest of the family. Friends couldn’t come. You would be amazed by the strangers who are able to support you from the outside. People who wrote me 5 pages every week and sent me books. That comforts you. After I left, I realized that people forget those who are in prison.”
With pencil and paper I studied how to deal with stress and sadness
On how he handled the situation: “They assign you a psychologist. I was fine if my environment was good and vice versa. I asked to take an emotional wellness course. With paper and pencil, I read and studied how to deal with stress and sadness and asked for books that would help me get through this stage. Afterwards I decided to study to reinvent myself. “I enrolled at UNED in a psychology course.”
Sport largely saved the prisoner’s situation: “David Barrufet (Barça handball teammate) brought me a net and a handball. Sport was my support a vent valve and routine that helped me.
“I could sleep if I came in tired, that’s what it was about. I didn’t want sleeping pills.” Remember that “They sent me a lot of photos and I asked permission to publish them.
He remembers his parole, at the Don Orione center. “They let me out to volunteer. During the trip from the prison to Madrid, I was accompanied by my escort the first day I was able to go to Madrid looking at the landscape, the grass“. He returned to Brieva at 5 p.m. “The afternoon wasn’t so long anymore.”
My mother was my great support. Just like my children, who know that I had no desire to commit a crime.
“In the third year, I asked to go to Vitoria with a job that I got, but to go and sleep in the Vitoria prison. My mother is 90 years old and when I was able to be with her again, it was a very nice experience. My mother was my great support. Just like my children who know that their father did not have the will to commit a crime.”
The best thing that happened to him in prison: “Prison gave me images of the past, I was able to know myself very well and it helped me prepare for a new stage in my life.”
Worse? “I wasted a lot of time. It pains me to think about it. Materially, I lost everything I had,” he admits.
The worst was losing one of the loves of my life. Cristina and I are so sorry
Even though he puts all the emphasis on the breakdown of his marriage. “The loss of one of the loves of my life. I love Cristina very much and I am very sorry. As a father there is no control. If they stumble, I am by their side. In prison I realized that there were very important things. “I was very controlling and when I came out I realized that “I need to be more understanding and value every minute they give me.”
“Leaving prison is not easy. I felt excluded, there was a stigma, everything doesn’t stop when you get out, you are a different person and you want to change and adapt to the new Iñaki. But people don’t see the new Iñaki and I had a bad time. Now I am with a group of people with whom I am developing a project. We have to work on the resentment in prison. We have to work on the past and see what we did wrong and what we did wrong. well and accept the situation There are people with whom you feel resentment, but it takes away your energy. At first, people were distant. “Now it’s more normal.”
Being a better person is a challenge we should all embrace every day.
Iñaki has prepared to help athletes, managers and businesses find the solution they need. “I had to apply it myself. I think it’s a golden opportunity to help others.”
Baste ends his conversation with a book by Viktor Frankl recommended to him by Luis Enrique, who lost his young daughter to illness a few years ago. They watch it as they leave the house. “In difficult times, when you know there are people who love you, it gives you energy.”
“You have to adapt to the circumstances in prison, you can surrender or become a better person by being as imperfect as you are. It’s about making the journey as pleasant as possible. Being a better person is a challenge we should all face every day.”
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