Everything comes to an end, but there is no need to be sad if the road has been worth it. And Laia Palau’s has deserved it and a lot. The player who has worn the national jersey the most timesboth in female and male category (315)says goodbye announces his definitive retirement at the age of 42 and a dream career that very few athletes can boast of. “It’s not a surprise what we’re doing here. I quit playing basketball. I don’t want to use the word retired because I’m not really retiring from basketball. My idyll with this sport does not end here. That’s why I say that I stop playing, and not that I retire. I will continue to work in this world. This sport has been my life, it is my life and it looks like it will continue to be my life. At the moment I do not leave the pavilion. I am not very prepared. Normally I take the microphone and it’s not difficult for me, but today a little“, He said at the press conference in which he announced the news.
behind him leaves a string of titles and records that will be very difficult to beat. With the Spanish National Team he has lived and starred in a glorious era divided into two stages. The first, between 2003 and 2010, harvesting a world silver and bronze and three European bronzes. The second, the golden age of women’s basketball in this country, between 2013 and 2019 with seven medals in seven consecutive years: gold at the 2013 Eurobasket, silver at the 2014 World Cup, bronze at the 2015 Eurobasket, silver at the 2016 Olympics, gold at the 2017 Eurbasket, bronze at the 2018 World Cup and gold at the 2019 Eurobasket. in club basketball has a career no less spectacular that adorn 2 Euroleagues, a competition in which she is the highest assistant in history, 14 leagues, 11 Cups and 6 Super Cups.
Palau will continue to be linked to the world of basketball, as he explained to the media in a speech in which he wanted to remember his parents and make it clear that he does not feel sadness. On the contrary, she only has words of gratitude and joy for everything she has experienced: “I am very grateful to my parents, who are here with me for another day, accompanying me on this adventure.. If it hadn’t been for them, I wouldn’t have made it this far. They also retire today. They are a bit sad. I have made my decision and I am very happy. Life has given me a tremendous career. And I have challenges ahead that make me very excited. My life has been exciting in this world. I am very fond of the love that people have given me. We have to thank life for the things that happen.”