De Marcos to retire at the end of the season
De Marcos to retire at the end of the season
The captain announced his decision to his teammates on Wednesday morning, three days after joining Iker Muniain as the player with second most appearances for the Lions
Athletic Club captain Oscar de Marcos has announced that he will hang up his boots at Athletic Club at the end of this season after 16 years with the men's first team.
The skipper has chosen this decision so as to concentrate all his efforts on the side's objectives this campaign, with the Lions currently fourth in LaLiga and through to the round of 16 in the Europa League.
This Sunday gone against RCD Espanyol, Oscar made Athletic history by going level with Iker Muniain as the player with second most appearances in our club's history (560 matches), a record only bettered by Jose Angel Iribar with 614 appearances.
The 35-year-old, a winner of two Supercopas and a Copa del Rey, made his debut as a Lion in a 2009/10 Europa League qualifier against Young Boys in Switzerland, a match which Athletic won 1-2 thanks a goal by Iker Muniain, the teammate from whom Oscar inherited the captain's armband and the friend with which De Marcos accomplished his dream of lifting the Copa del Rey.
Oscar will hold a press conference at Lezama on Wednesday at 13:15 CET in order to explain the reasons behind his decision, while at the end of the season he will look back at his entire career at an Athletic Club event.