Fernando Llorente had a memorable period at Swansea City during a playing career that spanned for two decades.
The Spaniard, who announced his retirement in 2023, joined Swansea City from Sevilla in 2016, when the Welsh club were in the Premier League.
Swansea City then sold the 40-year-old to Tottenham Hotspur in 2017, and Spurs face Manchester United in the Europa League final later today.
AS spoke to the former striker, and the majority of the interview was focused on Spurs’ Europa League final clash against the Red Devils. The Spanish newspaper also asked him about his time at Swansea City.
Llorente scored 15 goals and registered one assist from 35 games for the Welsh club and played a role in helping Swansea City avoid relegation from the top flight.
Swansea City eventually finished that season in 15th spot, after picking up 13 points from their last five league games. Llorente clearly sees this as a success for his former club.
The former Juventus striker is thrilled with the support he and his then teammates received from the Swansea City fans.
“It’s true. My first year in England (Wales, Fernando, Wales!), at Swansea, was wonderful. It’s where I was most important, playing as a starter,” he said.
“We were practically relegated, and in the end, it’s incredible how the fans, even though no one cared about us anymore and saw us as dead, kept cheering us on. I was amazed, because here in Spain your own fans would be killing you. And I thought, ‘Wow, this is incredible!’ We still believed we could get it, but we were last. To get out, we needed 15 points.
“It was exaggerated. We made it through the second half of the season, with feats like, for example, beating Liverpool 3-2 at Anfield. And then, in the last five games, we took four and drew one at Old Trafford. It’s incredible. The truth is, we finished the season on a high note, and it was a very nice experience.”
