De Marcos: “I’d like to end my career at Athletic”

Athletic Club footballer Óscar de Marcos admitted he would like to see out the rest of his career as a Lion after signing a one-year contract extension on Tuesday.

The versatile player is currently in his 12th season with Athletic and has already made 410 appearances for the Club, putting him at 15th in the all-time appearance makers list.

“Hopefully, I can end my career here at Athletic,” De Marcos said at a virtual press conference in Lezama. “But you never know, a lot of things have to fall into place for that to happen.”

Óscar has struggled with injury issues in recent years, missing most of the 2020 season with an ankle problem. But he is now back to full fitness and enjoying his football again, something that made putting pen to paper on his new deal much easier.

“The truth is I’ve felt much better physically in recent weeks,” De Marcos added. “We got the renewal done quickly because the Club and I both believe I can keep contributing to the team.”

He confessed it was not an easy road to this point, saying: “I had a lot of doubts. Throughout almost all of 2020 I wondered if it might be my last season in football.

“I was in a lot of pain and I didn’t want to drag out my career if I didn’t feel like I was accomplishing something.

“But now I’m well, my ankle doesn’t hurt anymore and above all I’m enjoying the daily work.”

Athletic’s next fixture sees them take on Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Thursday night (February 4, 21:00 CET).

The Lions beat Betis 4-0 in LaLiga Santander back in November, but De Marcos insisted that result will count for nothing in Thursday’s “all-or-nothing” clash.

“Every match in the Copa is difficult,” he said. “Concentration is going to be very important if we’re to win the game.

“If we do our jobs and stick to the plan, I can see us coming back with a place in the semi-finals.”