OFFICIAL: Ex-Spurs player Llorente confirms retirement

Fernando Llorente, World Cup winner with Spain at South Africa 2010, has confirmed his retirement from football at the age of 38 after an 18-season professional career featuring Athletic Club, where he trained, Juventus, Sevilla, Swansea, Tottenham, Napoli, Udinese and Eibar.

"From a very young age I dreamed of becoming a footballer. And who was going to tell me that I would be able to enjoy and experience everything that football has given me", begins the note released by Llorente through his social networks in Spanish, Italian and English, along with a four-minute video of some of his goals.

The former player stresses that these two decades have been "a long road in which with hard work, sacrifice, humility and passion" and that he has been able to "enjoy playing in great teams in which I have always proudly given the best of myself".

"I would like to thank everyone for the opportunities given to me and the fans who have always supported me, for the affection I have received over all these years," continues the player from Rioja, who considers himself "lucky to have been able to enjoy all the moments that football" has "allowed him to experience" and for all the great people and friends that he has been able to "meet along the way".

"Thank you", he concludes. Llorente came up through Athletic's youth ranks, starting at age 11 and after making his debut with the team in January 2005, he played nine seasons with the Bilbao outfit.

He made 333 appearances and scored 112 goals before making a controversial exit from Bilbao after not accepting Athletic's renewal offer, to sign for Juventus instead at the end of his contract on 30 June 2013.

With the Turin club he won five titles in two seasons - two leagues, a Coppa Italia and two Italian Super Cups - and in 2015 he signed for Sevilla, with whom he won the 2016 Europa League.

From Nervión he made the jump to the Premier League to play for Swansea (2016-2017) and Tottenham Hotspur (2017-2019). At the end of that campaign he returned to Italy with Napoli, winning the Coppa Italia, and after a year and a half at San Paolo he played the second half of the 2020-2021 season at Udinese.

Llorente's last professional experience was last season with Eibar in Spain's second division. He made 22 appearances for the side - the last one on 5 June 2022 at Ipurua in the promotion playoff against Girona - and scored two goals.

With the Spanish National Team he played 24 games and scored 7 goals, as part of the team that won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and Euro 2012.

 

May 15, 2023