Luke Ayling, Ezgjan Alioksi and Liam Cooper are among the Leeds United players to send Pablo Hernandez a message after he announced his retirement yesterday.
Hernandez released a statement via his official Instagram account confirming his decision, in which he reserved a special amount of gratitude for Leeds.
The Spaniard enjoyed one of the most successful periods of his career at Leeds, despite having not joined the club until he was 31.
Hernandez is regarded as one of, if not the most talented player to wear the shirt in the modern era having scored 36 goals and provided 41 assists in his 175 appearances for the club.
Undoubtedly, his best two individual campaigns came during Marcelo Bielsa’s first two seasons at the club, registering a combined 42 goal contributions across 77 appearances.
Alioski, Ayling, Cooper send Hernandez message after retirement
Perhaps the most unforgettable time of his Leeds career came during the lockdown period of the promotion campaign in 2019/20.
Despite nursing an injury, Hernandez scored three goals and registered a further three assists to almost single-handedly, claw Leeds over the line, which included that incredible 90th minute winner against Swansea City.
Hernandez will forever be remembered for the role he played in that Bielsa team, with Ayling, Alioski and Cooper just some of those from that team to send him a message.
Modern day Leeds supporters will forever look back and reflect on that team under Bielsa as the best in their life time.
Each and every player will undoubtedly be remembered fondly but Hernandez was the man who took it to the next level thanks to his incredible quality in the final third.
Without him, it is unlikely Leeds would’ve ever got over the line and played Premier League football.
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