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
-
Mahama commissions Odumase Krobo Divisional Police HQ, boosts operations with vehicles
1 minute -
Roads Minister urges contractors to stay on site, assures prioritised payments
6 minutes -
Suhuyini credits Ameri plant for averting 2024 power crisis in Kumasi
8 minutes -
Thirteen killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, health ministry says
22 minutes -
Tano North MP sounds alarm over galamsey devastation, accuses officials of shielding perpetrators
23 minutes -
World Relays: Ghana miss automatic qualification after finishing 4th in heat
30 minutes -
NACOC disrupts suspected drug network in Winneba ahead of Aboakyiri Festival
46 minutes -
You don’t need to incur GH¢15.6bn loss to stabilise the economy – Dr Boako tells gov’t
58 minutes -
Video: Dr Gideon Boako explains why he thinks BoG’s 2025 losses is more than GH¢15.6bn
1 hour -
The Bank of Ghana has not made any losses that should be a topic for discussion — Sammy Gyamfi
2 hours -
AMA to reintroduce Town Councils to enhance sanitation enforcement
2 hours -
Central bank’s inflation fight since 2022 came at a cost – Prof Turkson
2 hours -
If BoG isn’t a profit-making institution, it also can’t be a loss-making one – Kofi Bentil
3 hours -
Rethinking intelligence in the age of Artificial Intelligence
3 hours -
‘Every day is about survival’ – Workers demand action beyond May Day celebrations
3 hours