The starting goalkeeper in Bilbao and Roja has the possibility of replenishing his coffers in an exaggerated way, however compromising his presence in the Eurocup and World Cup. Jon Uriarte is fundamental in this operation.
The offices of the Athletic Club They have received a multimillion-dollar offer from Saudi Arabia, for one of their most important players in Ernesto Valverde’s squad. We are talking about goalkeeper Unai Simón, the third most valuable player in the lioness stenciland holder of the Spanish national team.
The offer that came from Arabia, specifically, is from Al Hilal, a team that includes the Spanish-Serbian Sergej Milinković-Savić, Kalidou Koulibaly, Rúben Neves, among others. Right now the Basque goalkeeper is valued at 25 million euros, but Athletic could double that without any problems. Jon Uriarte is interested in the offer, but Valverde is not.
Money for high-level competitiveness, Simón’s dilemma on leaving Athletic and arriving in Saudi Arabia
Usually, players who are nearing the end of their football career sign up for some exotic league, such as the Saudi Professional League. But the movement in recent years has changed drastically and the Asian country is bringing footballers to full capacity. A clear example is the starting goalkeeper of the Spanish national team.
Now it will be Unai Simón himself who will have to choose whether to continue in a top-level team like Athletic, which helped him to become one of the best goalkeepers in Europe. Or go to Saudi, finish his career in the elite, but at the cost of millions in his bank accounts. As we said before, the president of the lion entity is quite interested in the operation which could leave him 50 million euros.
Agirrezabala is also awaiting the possible escape of Unai Simón to Arabia
The second goalkeeper of the Bilbao club, we are talking about Julen Agirrezabala, is also attentive to the operation of his teammate and rival in the starting lineup. The San Sebastián man knows that if, so far, the Spanish goalkeeper finally leaves San Mamés, the goal could be in his hands. So far the 22-year-old goalkeeper hasn’t hurt when he had to answer Valverde’s call.
Last season the excachorro goalkeeper added 15 matches in which he conceded 10 goals, but remained unbeaten on 6 occasions. In this sense, Valverde knows he can trust his young goalkeeper, but he also doesn’t want to lose Unai Simón. The doubts will be resolved in the next few days, given that there is still 1 month left on the market.