OFFICIAL: Athletic club Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz retires from football | CABLE REPORTERS
By Anthony Nwafor, #Sports
Spanish striker Aritz Aduriz has made known his retirement from football.
Aritz Aduriz started out at Valencia but spent most of his Carrer playing for the basque side Athletic Bilbao. Considering most, he's had a quite successful and long football career.
The 39-year-old will be quite fondly remembered as a legend by Bilbao fans, with some may consider his best goal, a last-minute stunner against Barcelona setting up a Copa Del Rey final against old rivals Real Sociedad. Sadly, due to the coronavirus pandemic he's had to end his career before the big day.
The Skipper's career stats are really impressive – playing 780 games and scoring 285 goals, with over 400 league games for Athletic Club alone. 177 of his goals came after the age of 30, as he concluded his career with his best season yet athletic Bilbao.
Aduriz said: "This is how this journey ends for me, unforgettable and wonderful from start to finish."
The announcement explains that his reoccurring hip injury has become critical, that he ultimately has to retire from football.
"The time has come," Aduriz's message began. "Many times, I have said that football will leave you before you leave it.
"Yesterday, the doctors told me to go to see the surgeon, sooner rather than later, to get a prosthetic to replace my hip and to try and go about my everyday life, as normally as possible.
"Unfortunately, my body has said 'enough'. I can't help my team-mates the way I would like to, nor the way that they deserve. That is the life of a professional athlete. Simple, very simple
The Spanish national would have hoped to end his career with a Copa Del Rey trophy, but the season has been halted due to the pandemic.
Aduriz said, "unfortunately, we are living through situations much more grim and painful; the pandemic that we are suffering from has left us with irreparable damage and we have to keep fighting it, together".
"Therefore, I don't want you to worry about me, this is just an anecdote. Let's forget about the finals we dreamt about because we will have time to say goodbye. And yes, the time has come to say goodbye, and this is how the road ends for me - unforgettable and marvelous, from beginning to end.
"Thank you, from the bottom of my heart."
It’s quite a sad ending to the Spanish legend's career, as he will be fondly remembered by Athletic Bilbao fans.
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