Iker Munyain is leaving Athletic! | Relief

This day came. A difficult moment for all of athletics as the red and white legend bid farewell to the club this afternoon. Iker Munyain has informed his teammates in Lezama that he will not continue with Athletic next season. and thus put an end to 15 seasons at the club of his life, where he touched the sporting sky and also rose upward every time football touched him. At 31, he became the second-most capped player in the red-and-white’s century-long history, with three titles to his name and the love of fans for life. The Navarrese will continue his career outside Spain after discussing his future in recent months. He finally got the opportunity to leave home after a difficult season for himself, but a historic one for the group.

Iker leaves, but He will forever remain the captain who collected the Spanish Cup in the La Cartuja box. and that, in an unforgettable gesture of camaraderie, he lifted her and De Marcos onto the grass. It was a difficult course, in which from the very beginning there were doubts about its future, as we expected in Relevo in the month of October, but which ended in the best possible way. Celebrating this historic title brought him even more love from the fans who sponsored him. ever since he debuted at 16, a kid who smelled like a legend from day one.

Along the way he shone with Caparrós, he grew and touched glory with Marcelo Bielsa – his tears in Bucharest were unforgettable – and he consolidated with Ernesto Valverde. Two anterior cruciate ligament injuries left him in danger and jeopardized his football., but he overcame them to return to the top level. It is important to take into account those two seasons almost lost due to knees, because despite them, He ranks second in match history with 557 matches, behind only Chopo Iribaru (614).

Ziganda – few games due to second knee injury – Berizzo and Garitano also enjoyed him on the bench, although His relationship with Marcelino García Toral was special., with whom he was associated from day one. The Cantabrian gave him the keys to the team and Iker led the group to the title again. In fact, the 2021 Super Cup was his first trophy on the pitch, as a first ligament injury ruled him out of the 2015 Cup final and the subsequent Super Cup, won in two matches against the Barcelona of Messi, Suarez and Neymar.

For this reason, and also because I had to regret five defeats in the finals, What he achieved at La Cartuja was special to him.. “Many tears were shed, the final was lost, but finally, thanks to work and dedication, we are here today to celebrate,” he said excitedly at Bilbao City Hall. Few people deserved more than him to win this title and go down in history.. It was the icing on the cake of two decades of Lezama dreaming about this moment. Athleticzale since childhood; he joined the club when he was only 11 years old. It wasn’t until four years later that he drove everyone crazy in Second B with the reserve team and started training with the first team.

Joaquin Caparros, without hesitation, trusted him and made his debut a season later. Those who saw his debut on July 30, 2009 in San Mames will never forget it. This boy impressed everyone in the match against Young Boys and just a week later he scored the winning goal in Switzerland.

. Shortly afterwards, at the end of August, he played his first La Liga game against an Espanyol team against whom he “danced” every time he touched the ball. Since then he has scored 75 professional goals and record of the youngest footballer to debut and score for Athletic in the First Divisionbesides the fact that he is also youngest to play 500 games for his club.

The men of One Club, which will continue far beyond Spain

After these first games came the story of a prodigy. His greatness puts him in a place of honor at the club and in La Liga., was always loyal to Athletic and refused lucrative offers from abroad. What was special was the contract he signed with Josu Urrutia in December 2018, for the first time without a termination clause and on his own initiative. The contract expires on June 30, when he will officially cease to be an Athletic player.. Although he is not finishing his career in Bilbao, he considers himself a member of One Club Men and always will be, just like Andoni Iraolu is considered.

This is exactly why He doesn’t want to play in Spainalthough during the year there was interest from various clubs, however, they did not go further due to the player’s refusal. Yes, he will continue his career away from home, barring a surprise outside of Europe., before hanging up his boots and returning to live in Bilbao with his family. This will always be his home, with the permission of the residents of the Txantrea region, where the boy who dreamed of playing for Athletic was born, raised and began his education. Today, 31 years later, he says goodbye.

farewell tribute

The club will prepare a big farewell party for the captain. There are two games left in San Mamés, against Osasuna and Sevilla, for the fans to show their love for them. But there will also be a farewell press conference and an event dedicated to the memory of the club. It’s not every day that a player of the same caliber as the Navarrese player leaves the team, who also behaved like a real captain this season, and at every corner of Athletic he is singled out and valued as an example for the entire team. Surely there will also be tears on this day, like in Bucharest or La Cartuja. Until, will continue to help achieve the final goal of the course and qualify for the Champions League..