Fernando Llorente · Biography

On 24 January 2013 Juventus announced the signing of Fernando Javier Llorente Torres (Pamplona, 26 February 1985) for the following summer, when the striker would leave Athletic Club as a free agent after eight seasons in their first team. The free move to Turin ended his Bilbao years and opened the most successful spell of his career. A 1.95-metre centre-forward nicknamed “Madari”, he later played for Sevilla, Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur, Napoli, Udinese and Eibar, and with the Spain national team he won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

Youth years at Lezama

He was born in Pamplona, although his family lived in Rincón de Soto, in La Rioja, a town that later made him an adopted son. He joined Athletic’s academy at Lezama in 1996. In 2003-04 he played for the feeder club C. D. Basconia, scoring 12 goals in 33 games, and in 2004-05 he moved up to the reserve side, Bilbao Athletic, with 4 goals in 16 matches.

Eight seasons at Athletic Club

He made his La Liga debut on 16 January 2005 at San Mamés, in a 1-1 draw with Espanyol under Ernesto Valverde. Three days later he scored a hat-trick in the Copa del Rey against UD Lanzarote (6-0). He went on to become the side’s main attacking reference. His best league tally came in 2010-11, with 18 goals, and his best overall season was 2011-12, with 29 goals in all competitions. That year, under Marcelo Bielsa, Athletic reached two finals and lost both: the Europa League final in Bucharest against Atlético de Madrid and the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona, who had also beaten them in the 2009 cup final. Llorente shared the 2011-12 Zarra Trophy with Roberto Soldado. He left in 2013 with 333 appearances and 117 goals.

Two league titles with Juventus

In Turin, first under Antonio Conte and then Massimiliano Allegri, he won Serie A in 2013-14 and 2014-15, along with the 2014-15 Coppa Italia and the 2015 Italian Super Cup. He played the closing minutes of the 2015 Champions League final in Berlin, which Juventus lost to Barcelona. Over two seasons he made 92 appearances and scored 27 goals.

Sevilla, Swansea and Tottenham

On 27 August 2015 he terminated his Juventus contract and joined Sevilla, where he played 36 games and scored 7 goals. On 4 August 2016 he moved to Swansea City for around €6 million; in Wales he scored 15 goals in 35 matches, including a brace against Liverpool at Anfield in January 2017. On 31 August 2017 he signed for Tottenham Hotspur for around €17 million. In London he scored FA Cup hat-tricks against Rochdale in 2018 and Tranmere in 2019. In April 2019 he scored the goal against Manchester City that sent Tottenham into the Champions League semi-finals on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate. He came on for the last eight minutes of the final in Madrid, lost 2-0 to Liverpool. He ended his English spell with 66 appearances and 13 goals.

Final years: Napoli, Udinese and Eibar

On 2 September 2019 he joined Napoli on a free transfer, playing 29 games and scoring 4 goals. In January 2021 he moved to Udinese, with 14 appearances and one goal in six months. On 27 October 2021 he returned to Spain with Eibar, in the Spanish second division, making 22 appearances and scoring twice in 2021-22, his last season as a professional.

Spain national team

He made his senior debut on 19 November 2008 at El Madrigal, in a 3-0 win over Chile, replacing Xavi in the 71st minute. At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa he played the last half-hour of the round-of-16 win over Portugal (1-0) and became a world champion without featuring in the final. He was part of the squad that won Euro 2012, although he did not play at the tournament. He won 24 caps and scored 7 goals for Spain. In February 2023 he announced his retirement during a television broadcast, and he made it official in May 2023.