Iñigo Lekue renews contract until 2025
Iñigo Lekue renews contract until 2025
The versatile player has signed a two-year contract extension, meaning he will complete a decade as a Lion
Athletic Club full-back Iñigo Lekue has put pen to paper on a new two-year deal which will keep him at Athletic Club until June 30, 2025.
The 29-year-old Bilbao-born defender will manage to complete a decade as a Lion after arriving at Athletic from local youth team Danok Bat in 2012.
Lekue stated it is an honour to stay on at his boyhood club, insisting it was a dream which anyone from Bilbao would understand.
“To carry on at the club I support means everything. Athletic has been my club since I was a child and I’ve been a Member for as long as I can remember,” the full-back said about extending his time at the club.
“To spend a decade playing for Athletic and wearing the shirt is a reason to be happy and proud, both for me and my loved ones.”
The versatile player, who is currently recovering from an injury sustained in March's LaLiga fixture against Rayo Vallecano, has 207 first-team appearances to his name, 50 of them coming in the last two seasons.
Lekue made his Athletic Club debut under current coach Ernesto Valverde on 14 August 2015 during the unforgettable 4-0 victory over FC Barcelona in the first leg of the Supercopa. In the squad for the second leg, it was the first of two Supercopas Iñigo has won at Athletic.
In line with the policy set out by the Board of Directors for new contracts, Lekue's agreement has a salary structure which includes bonuses based on objectives.
Athletic’s director of football, Mikel González, highlighted the importance of tying down one of the squad’s leaders while he is in his prime years.
He said: “This is great news for the Club. Iñigo has been in the first team for eight seasons, playing at a very high level, with more than 200 appearances and, most importantly, more than 50 official games in the last two seasons."
“What's more, Iñigo is a very versatile player who can play on both flanks as a full-back, as he has shown this season as well."
"On a personal level he is a very important player for the Club. As one of our captains, he truly represents what Athletic values are, what a player of the Club should represent, and this is a way of maintaining continuity in the club.”