a dream signing…

Yesterday (Aug. 17), Fernando Llorente appeared on the cover of Marca, breaking the hegemony of Mesut Özil, who had been featured on the cover every day either via words or a picture since Aug. 12 (he’s on the cover again today, check it out!).  Thank goodness he finally signed, it was getting tiring seeing his face every day!!!

I for one can’t wait to see an “FP Fichado” stamp on Fernando!  I wish we would buy/promote more Spanish players!  And it doesn’t hurt that Fer is very handsome too!  Fernando’s teammate Javi Martínez was also mentioned earlier this summer as a possible fichaje but now with our overglut of midfielders, that’s not looking too lightly.  As for Llorente, Mou did say he wanted another forward…

Anyway, Marca of course had to run to Fernando to show him their cover and get his reaction.  Here are some excerpts from the interview, from today’s edition:

Q:  Fernando sees the cover and his faces changes…

A:  I hadn’t seen the cover until now.  ¡Qué fuerte! I’ve never been in a similar situation…

Q:  Were you surprised by Madrid’s interest?  What is your reaction to the news that Madrid is interested in signing you?

A:  Well… it’s always nice when a club like Real Madrid is interested in you, but right now I’m only focusing on Athletic.  I signed a three-year contract with them and the only thing I want is to continue growing and improving each year to win a title with my team.

Q:  Have you received any calls from Madrid or run into FP in the Bernabéu?

A:  No, I don’t have any news other than what was published in Marca.  I’m calm now, and the only thing I’m thinking about is Athletic, the club I’ve been with my entire life.

(Marca then asks some questions where it sounds like they’re trying to trap Fernando into talking about other clubs or saying bad things about Athletic, but each time he responds that he’s only concentrating on Athletic and how much he loves them.)

Q:  Your life changed during the World Cup.  Just half an hour of play against Portugal revealed what a great player Fernando Llorente is…  [part of it has to be attributed to the tight shirt, as it was also quite revealing…]

A:  What we lived through in the last months has been marvelous.  I could never have imagined what happened in the end.  It was a once in a lifetime experience.  Just the fact that I was called up to be part of this group was incredible for me.  And then what occurred, what we achieved…  It’s indescribable.  After winning the ultimate title that a footballer can aspire to, I would like to continue winning titles and I have a lot of desire to win one with Athletic.

Marca ends by saying that Athletic refuses to negotiate for Llorente, and that their set price is €36 million, plus the 18% VAT.