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Muniain decides to leave Athletic on top

Muniain decides to leave Athletic on top

The club captain announces his departure after 15 seasons with the first team

Iker Muniain has informed Athletic Club of his decision to leave the club at the end of the season. The moment and the manner in which our captain has chosen to say goodbye to his boyhood side is yet another demonstration of the no.10's unconditional love for Athletic Club.

After 15 seasons in the first team and 557 games so far - making him Athletic's second highest appearance maker ever after Jose Angel Iribar's 614 - Muniain is bowing out on top, having fulfilled his dream of boarding La Gabarra as an Athletic champion.

The figures that represent Muniain's career at Athletic reflect his importance. Iker arrived to Lezama when he was just 12 years old and stormed his way up the ranks until making his first team debut at just 16 years of age, equalling another legend, Piru Gainza, as the club's youngest debutant. Iker's first official match came on 30 July 2009 against Young Boys at San Mamés, and in the second leg he became the youngest goalscorer in Athletic history.

Fifteen seasons have passed since and Muniain has scored a combined 75 goals in LaLiga, the Copa, the Champions League and the Europa League. The captain also won two Super Cups (2014/15 and 2019/20) and recently lifted Athletic Club's coveted 25th Copa trophy, breaking a 40-year drought in a competition that is particularly special for Athletic fans.

Iker was a runner-up in the Copa del Rey on five occasions and once in the Europa League. He scored iconic goals which will live forever in Zurigorri history. For example, his strike against David de Gea in Manchester, where he ran like a rocket to get to a loose ball in the box, or the one in Naples in the first leg of our famous Champions League play-off.

Statistics, however brilliant the data may be (and in Iker's case it is), are not enough to reflect the playmaker's significant contribution to Athletic.

Following in the footsteps of other legendary Lions, Muniain preferred to stay at home and compete with his own, with the team that developed him and gave him the opportunity to become a professional, refusing to sign for other clubs that could offer him more money and the promise of more silverware in his trophy cabinet.

This commitment made him an idol for the fans and a model for the new generations. These character traits also made him the perfect captain, a role he embraced with humility and integrity, demonstrated by his constant displays of sportsmanship and respect.

The fortitude, dedication and determination with which he overcame his two serious knee injuries are also a sign of the player's professionalism as well as his passion for football and for Athletic.

The way Muniain has announced his departure also merits praise and will only further his legacy. He bids farewell to his beloved club weeks after leading Athletic to Copa glory and the subsequent La Gabarra party in Bilbao.

He scored in the penalty shootout and lifted the trophy alongside Oscar de Marcos, his steadfast companion in a thousand battles. From that moment on, Iker, perhaps aware of his imminent farewell, became the leader of the celebrations.

Muniain showed great energy, attitude and enthusiasm as he revelled in the achievement and his pride in Athletic and his teammates. Iker was the perfect catalyst for a few eternal days of glory in which Athletic showed the world what makes us unique, the bond between the team and fans.

Athletic Club is pleased to announce that a farewell event and tribute to the captain will be held at San Mamés in the near future, and as it is such an important occasion, it will be open to the general public.