Fernando Llorente

His Seven goals in the tournament also made him the club's highest scorer in European competition, beating the total of 11 set by Dani in the 1980s, later surpassed by Aduriz in 2016.

Fernando Javier Llorente Torres (born 26 February 1985), nicknamed El Rey León ("The Lion King" in Spanish), is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker.

He joined Athletic Bilbao's youth system in 1996 at the age of 11, being eligible through his Navarrese roots.

Llorente spent several seasons in the various junior levels of the club, playing alongside Fernando Amorebieta and moving to their farm team Basconia in Tercera División in 2003.

He gradually improved, leading to promotion to Bilbao Athletic – Athletic's reserves – in Segunda División B.

He started his career with Athletic Bilbao, working his way through the various youth ranks and, after making his first team debut in 2005, becoming one of the most important offensive players for the club in the following decade.

On 16 January 2005, he made his first-team and La Liga debut in a 1–1 home draw against Espanyol.

Three days later, in a Copa del Rey match against Lanzarote, he scored a hat-trick in a 6–0 victory.

He went on to feature in all but five of the nineteen remaining league games, scoring three goals, and also played in four domestic cup matches and the UEFA Cup round of 32 tie against Austria Wien.

Before 2005–06, Llorente exchanged his squad number of 32 for the number 9 jersey.

He scored on the opening day, a Basque derby 3–0 win over Real Sociedad but, throughout the campaign, found goals hard to come by.

This could be partly attributed to a series of injuries including a knee strain, gastroenteritis and a muscle injury.

He ended the season with just four goals, two in the league and as many in the Cup, both against Hospitalet.

On 13 July 2006, Llorente signed a new contract until June 2011, which included a buy-out clause of between €30 and 50 million.

He started the season as arguably the club's fourth-choice striker, behind Aritz Aduriz, Joseba Etxeberria and veteran Ismael Urzaiz.

The team's poor form and lack of goals led to coach Félix Sarriugarte rotating the players, allowing Llorente to force his way back into the side; he ended the campaign with only two goals in 23 matches, although he did score an important one in the closing minutes of a 1–1 draw at Valencia.

In preparation for 2007–08, Llorente scored six goals in as many pre-season matches, and another against Numancia in the Caja Duero Trophy.

His form led to him becoming Athletic's first-choice forward, and although he started the campaign poorly, he ended it with a total of 11 league goals as the side finished in mid-table.

His tally included four goals in two games against Valencia, both impressive wins, and further strikes against Barcelona, Villarreal and Atlético Madrid.

A Spain international from 2008 to 2013, Llorente was a member of the squads which won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

Born in Pamplona, Llorente grew up in the municipality of Rincón de Soto in La Rioja.

After scoring four goals for the B's in the first half of the season, Llorente was rewarded with a contract extension until June 2008.

Before 2008–09, Llorente was confident of a successful season.

"I know that I am capable of scoring goals and having a good year and I want to start this term in the same form that I ended the last one in" he said.

Despite the team's modest start he scored 14 league goals – a career-best – with another four in the Cup, helping his team reach the final against Barcelona (a 4–1 loss).

In the 2009–10 season, Llorente again reached double figures.

He led all scorers in the Europa League for a long period with eight goals, and added fourteen in the league as Athletic eventually finished in eighth place.

On 28 August 2010, Llorente scored the first goal of the 2010–11 campaign, in a 1–0 win at Hércules.

His form continued in the next ten league fixtures as he found the net Seven times, eventually finishing the season with 18 goals (19 overall) as Athletic qualified for the Europa League.

He scored 29 goals in all competitions in the 2011–12 season, and was described as a "Bilbao legend".

Llorente scored in both legs of the 2011–12 Europa League round of 16 against Manchester United, as Athletic won both games and went through 5–3 on aggregate.

In the next round he scored twice at Schalke 04 in a 4–2 win, helping the team eventually reach the final.

Between January and February 2012, Llorente scored five goals in two away matches in only four days: he started with a hat-trick in a 3–2 win against Rayo Vallecano, and added two in a 2–1 defeat of Mirandés in the Spanish Cup semi-finals.

In the next two matches, both at home, he scored three more, one against Espanyol in the league and two against Mirandés.

In August 2012, Llorente refused to sign a new deal with Athletic Bilbao, fuelling speculation that he might be leaving.

Following a 2–0 Basque derby loss at Real Sociedad on 29 September, in which he was a late substitute, he got into an argument with manager Marcelo Bielsa; two days later he walked out of training early and was sent to practice with the youth squad and, as a result, his relationship with the club's supporters and president Josu Urrutia further deteriorated.

He signed with Juventus in 2013, and won the Serie A title twice during his two-year spell there.

On 3 January 2013, Athletic confirmed that Llorente would be holding talks with Juventus.

Subsequently, he spent 2015–16 back in Spain with Sevilla before moving to Swansea City in 2016 and Tottenham Hotspur the following year, reaching the 2019 Champions League final with the latter.

He retired aged 38, following stints at Napoli, Udinese and Eibar.