Raúl García to retire at the end of the season

Raúl García, a true legend, has decided to leave football behind at the age of 37, a week after his greatest achievement at Athletic Club, La Copa, a match where he did his last great service to the team to date by decisively scoring the first penalty of the shootout. He told his teammates about the decision this morning at the Lezama facilities, in the gym, the place where he has spent hours and hours every day to extend his career as much as possible.

The player from Navarre has accumulated incredible numbers in Spanish football, where he is third in the ranking for LaLiga games with 602 matches (109 goals), only behind Andoni Zubizarreta and Joaquín (622). Raúl García, an example of professionalism and effort, has made 356 appearances in nine seasons at Athletic, to which must be added 329 at Atlético de Madrid and 126 at Osasuna, the club where he was formed.

With no less than 20 seasons as a professional in the highest category, the player from Zizur has played 811 professional matches to date, scoring 148 goals. In addition, he has been able to adapt perfectly to the different positions that football has required of him. Raúl García started as a midfielder, became an  attacking midfielder and ended up at Athletic as a striker due to a need to find a replacement for Aritz Aduriz.

For Athletic Club it is a real honour that a player of his enormous talent has completed almost a decade with our colours. We are talking about a player who leaves with an enormous professional and footballing recognition, and with a  cabinet full of trophies. The mixture of silverware between Athletic and Atletico allows him to hang up his boots with 1 LaLigs, 2 Copa, 2 Spanish Super Cups, 2 Europa Leagues and 2 European Super Cups. An unforgettable Lion.