Ander Herrera left Manchester United in 2019 after failing to agree a new deal at Old Trafford, joining Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
The midfielder never really managed to get going in France, eventually signing for his boyhood club Athletic Bilbao on loan in the summer of 2022. He barely played because of injuries, suspensions and the manager's decisions but Athletic still made the deal permanent this January. This is when trouble really began.
The 33-year-old's 2022/23 season has been plagued by injuries — a trend that started during his time at Man United. He has only played 11 games so far.
Since the return wasn’t going as planned, he had to explain himself on Instagram earlier this month:"I'm going through, without a doubt, the most difficult moment of my career. A little over a year ago I started having repetitive muscle problems from which I can't recover.
"For someone like me, who is passionate about his profession and enjoys it every day, it's very hard. I feel the same energy and enthusiasm for football as I have during my entire career, but injuries are not allowing me be happy.
"On occasions, it has crossed my mind to throw in the towel but I would not forgive myself. I'm going to keep looking for solutions and working to get back to doing what I love the most and return the love of the people around me."
Juan Mata responded by saying 'Patience and encouragement, you will return as you always do' while David De Gea wrote 'You still have a lot to enjoy'.
Still, some Bilbao supporters are not quite to have a player on the books who doesn't really add to anything on the pitch. Here are some of the takes.
Lop: "I said he shouldn't have come back and everyone bashed me for it. I said that he was a good footballer but he wasn't playing, he had fitness issues and he was old. PSG didn't want him, no team apart from Athletic was interested."
Daniela: "He should never have come back."
Camaro75: "As the season is closing to an end, we can consider him a poor signing."
Is: "Uriarte [Athletic president] knew that he was giving us old and lame cow txuleton [a rib steak] And still he brought it. Accustomed to the new economy of start-ups, gambling houses and cryptocurrencies, he wanted to play Russian roulette with this signing and he shot himself in the foot."
So as it turns out, the last meaningful contribution to his team was when he played for Man United, more precisely when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was still the interim manager.
Back in December, Herrera appeared on Man United's official podcast, breaking down in tears while talking about his exit. Given how his career has turned out since then, it's easy to understand why the Spaniard reacted the way he did.
