Iker Muniain bids emotional farewell to Athletic Club after almost 20 years | OneFootball

Athletic Club organised an event on Monday night to commemorate Iker Muniain’s time at the club, and bid him farewell, a well-deserved moment of recognition for the man who captained the club to their first major trophy in almost 40 years when they won the Copa del Rey last month.

The club’s captain has been at the club in some form since 2005 and has played 578 matches for the Basque outfit.

The veteran finishes off his stint with 75 first-team goals in all competitions, in a team which has seen his presence since 2009, when he made the jump up from Bilbao’s B-team.

In a footballing world where loyalty is becoming harder and harder to come by, both on behalf of clubs and players, seeing another ‘one-club man’ bid farewell to his club will always be an emotional experience.

This proved no different for Muniain, who was shown to be visibly emotional on club social media accounts during the event in his honour.

Bilbao’s fans emerged in their thousands, with over 25,000 of them turning out in a fitting tribute for an all-time great of their club.

GSFN | Ciaran Currie