Iker Munian - the new Maradona, I mean Messi, no..Rooney...
At only 16 years of age, Iker Muniain is Athletic Bilbao’s youngest ever player and became the club’s youngest ever goalscorer with his strike in the Europa League against Young Boys Bern.
He now also holds the record of youngest ever goalscorer in the Spanish Primera after scoring against Real Valladolid on Sunday.He was 16 years and 289 days old, beating Xisco Nadal’s previous record by 64 days.
Consequently, the experienced Joseba Etxeberria has stated that he believes Muniain is one of the most exciting talents to come through los Leones’ youth system for years.
“A footballer of this class integrates themselves very well – football only has one language, and Iker has mastered it,” Etxeberria enthused to Radio Euskadi.
“It’s very positive news, even aside from his goalscoring contribution to the team. Muniain will certainly be a quality player, not just for this team.
“If he continues along this path, I believe he will become a world class player.”
Despite this, Etxeberria gave out a warning to the club’s fans. During the summer, Bayern Munich were interested in Fernando Llorente and Liverpool considered a swoop for Javi Martinez, but Athletic managed to hold onto the duo.
The 32-year-old knows it will be even more difficult for the Basques to hold onto Muniain if he surpasses his team-mates’ levels.
“We hope he will spend many years here, but this will definitely be difficult,” he lamented.
As usual, all the top clubs in the world have shown interest but Liverpool is said to be ready to splash the cash in January Spain’s hottest teenage talent.
Iker Muniain’s Goal against Real Valladolid Video: