The former Manchester United, Villarreal and Atlético striker revealed he nearly wound up at San Mamés through his Basque grandmother.
Former Manchester United, Villarreal and Atlético Madrid striker Diego Forlán has revealed that he almost joined Athletic Bilbao – the side against whom he scored more goals than any other during his career in the Spanish top flight.
“I would have loved to [sign for Athletic],” Forlán said on Spanish radio after picking up a prize at the annual AS Awards gala in Madrid.
“We were close and we were pushing for it. My grandmother was born in San Sebastián and when she was 15 or 16 she had to emigrate to Uruguay. I’ve got more Basque blood in me than many players there now. We spoke to [then-Athletic sporting director Andoni] Zubizarreta. I was at United at the time and they played very good football but I needed to play more games.
“If United played 60 games, I’d be involved in 30 and I needed more. I said to my brother: ‘Going to another club who play well but do so more in the air isn’t going to help me and could work out worse.’ We started to look around in Spanish football and I thought: ‘Athletic could work for me, I could have a chance there’.”
“The most annoying thing is that I got tired of scoring against Athletic. They kept asking me to leave my boots or my shirt there,” Forlán added with a chuckle.