
Audio By Carbonatix
Athletic Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz has announced his retirement from professional football.
With La Liga on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, the 39-year-old is set to have a hip replacement.
Aduriz, who is the oldest player ever to score for Spain, was set to play in an all-Basque Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad in April.
"Many times, I have said that football will leave you before you leave it," he wrote on Twitter.
"Yesterday, the doctors told me to go see the surgeon, sooner rather than later, to get a prosthetic to replace my hip and try to 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 they deserve. That is the life of a professional athlete. Simple."
Aduriz scored 141 goals in 296 appearances for Bilbao, while he also played for Valencia and Mallorca.
He also won 13 caps for Spain, becoming the country's oldest goalscorer in 2016, aged 35 years and 275 days.
Latest Stories
-
UEW Vice-Chancellor calls for rethink of Ghana’s education system at 2026 Public Lecture
4 minutes -
Health expert urges enough sleep, rest to control hypertension
5 minutes -
Foreign Affairs Ministry alerts travellers as EU rolls out new biometric Entry/Exit System
7 minutes -
Publican AI system doesn’t determine values, it flags suspicious transactions – GRA Boss
17 minutes -
Balancing the scales: McDan Aviation, E&P, and politics of opportunity in Ghana’s economy
21 minutes -
GRA credits Publican AI system for exposing GH¢11bn port leakages
24 minutes -
Owabi, Barekese water plants face shutdown threat over pollution and power outages
32 minutes -
Catholic Bishops call for national dialogue on LGBTQ debate
37 minutes -
Softcare FM Manufacturing Ltd backs Consumer Health Week, pushes science-driven care agenda
38 minutes -
The Eyes of Ghana to premiere in April, spotlighting rare Nkrumah-era footage
41 minutes -
$31bn transferred without matching imports in five years — GRA boss
54 minutes -
JoyNews Impact Maker, Williams Akongbabre, presents award to people of Bawku West
54 minutes -
Kenya backs Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, signals push for implementation
1 hour -
Hip-hop pioneer, Afrika Bambaataa, dies aged 68
1 hour -
Maison Yusif Fragrance becomes first Ghanaian brand to showcase at Paris Perfume Week
1 hour