Aduritz announces retirement from football Aritz Aduriz has announced his retirement from active football. Aduriz has been nursing a hip injury and has now being advised to undergo replacement surgery.

The 39-year-old was set to hang up his boots at the end of the 2019/20 season. He had hoped for a final hurrah for Athletic Club when they face Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey final. The showpiece game has however been put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. Aduritz took to social media on Wednesday to announce the news. “The time has come. Many times, I have said that football will leave you before you leave it,” he wrote. “Yesterday, the doctors told me to go to see the surgeon, sooner rather than later, to get a prosthetic to replace my hip and to try and go about my everyday life, as normally as possible. “Unfortunately, my body has said ‘enough’. “I can’t help my team-mates the way I would like to, nor the way that they deserve. That is the life of a professional athlete. Simple, very simple. “Unfortunately, we are living through situations much more grim and painful; the pandemic that we are suffering from has left us with irreparable damage and we have to keep fighting it, together. “Therefore, I don’t want you to worry about me, this is just an anecdote. “Let’s forget about the finals we dreamt about, because we will have time to say goodbye. And yes, the time has come to say goodbye, and this is how the road ends for me – unforgettable and marvellous, from beginning to end. “Thank you, from the bottom of my heart,” he concluded. Aduriz is a legendary figure at Athletic as he played for over three spells for the Basque club. He also played for Aurrera, Burgos on loan, Real Valladolid, Real Mallorca and Valencia. In addition, Aduriz is the second highest Spanish goalscorer in LaLiga Santander in the 21st century, scoring 158 goals in his professional career, a figure only surpassed by David Villa (186).