Ander Herrera has rejoined former Athletic Bilbao on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. The deal includes an option for the Basque club to buy him outright at the end of the season.
Contrary to reports in recent days, Herrera has not had his PSG terminated and technically remains under contract in the French capital until the summer of 2024.
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Herrera joined PSG in 2019 as a free agent after leaving Manchester United, where he had spent the previous five years and become a cult hero with fans.
However, injury and then the cancellation of the season due to Covid-19 severely limited his game time in 2019/20. He became more regular the following year, albeit still only starting 18 of PSG’s Ligue 1 fixtures, before falling out of favour completely last season.
Now 33, Herrera has reached the twilight of his career and the time has come to return home. The Bilbao-born midfielder actually started out at Real Zaragoza, but was signed up by his boyhood club at the age of 21 in 2011. It was with Bilbao that he then made his name as a tenacious box-to-box player, notably impressing Sir Alex Ferguson in a famous performance at Old Trafford.
Herrera eventually made the switch to Manchester in 2014, a year after the Premier League side had first tried to sign him. He won the FA Cup in England, as well as the EFL Cup and Europa League. He also marked Eden Hazard out of a game against Chelsea and briefly played his way into the Spain national team squad at his peak.
Having worn the number 21 for Bilbao, Manchester United and PSG for 11 consecutive seasons, Herrera will don the number 23 back at San Mames on account of his favourite jersey already being occupied by right-back Ander Capa.
