Premier League flop to get STATUE outside proposed World Cup stadium - as star's club labels him the 'best player' in their history

A Premier League flop who scored no goals in the division is set to be remembered for years to come with a statue.
The striker was ranked the third-worst player in Liverpool's history - admittedly rather harshly and with recency bias - after struggling to adapt to the language and culture.
But Iago Aspas is a legend for Celta Vigo and their president has revealed plans to build an effigy outside their Estadio Balaidos.
That could see his imposing figure staring down at England stars as the ground is a proposed venue for the 2030 World Cup, hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
Aspas moved to Anfield for £6million in 2013 but his only goal in 15 appearances came in the FA Cup against Oldham.
He was then shipped out to Sevilla on loan for his second season on Liverpool 's books before moving back to Celta.
A homeboy to the heart, Aspas had felt homesick when he moved the 16 kilometre distance from his fishing village of Moana to Vigo, so switching country was always going to be a struggle.
Liverpool even allowed him to invite a group of his best friends over to help him acclimatise but that didn't help him integrate or crack the language.
It's a different story for Celta, though. In the right environment, Aspas is a prolific forward. The striker, 37, has now scored 214 goals for them across 524 appearances.
'When we were in Manchester, there was a statue of Bobby Charlton in front of the stadium (...) The same will happen here with Iago Aspas,' said club president Marian Mourino.
Mourino also hailed him as 'the best player in the club's history'.
His form in LaLiga has seen him capped 20 times by Spain down the years and he has scored six goals for them.
He scored against England on his Spain debut at Wembley in 2016 in a 2-2 draw.
An overriding memory for Liverpool fans, though, may be of Aspas' woeful corner against Chelsea in 2014 in the game that killed off their title hopes.
The infamous corner came as Liverpool were chasing the game in stoppage time.
It needed to go into the danger area instead it went straight to Willlan on the edge of the box leaving exasperated team-mates gesturing, arms outstretched.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

BBC News

30 minutes ago

• BBC News

Fighting spirit lifts England U21s as they eye more history

England Under-21s have proved they have the fight to defend their European title. The mass brawl at the final whistle, coupled with a brilliant Euro 2025 quarter-final victory over Spain on Saturday, removed any doubt these Young Lions could be a soft touch. Charlie Cresswell promised pre-game there would be no lack of fight from England after their limp 2-1 loss to Germany and the Young Lions lived up to the billing. Cresswell was at the heart of protecting his team-mates, with players willing to fight for each other following a late challenge on Tino Livramento seconds before the final whistle. Similar scenes followed England's Euro 2023 final victory over Spain and the defending champions are not willing to let their title go quietly. They now face the Netherlands in the semi-finals on Wednesday after a performance full of class, style, guile and fight. "There's better ways to build camaraderie," manager Lee Carsley joked afterwards. "But we had something similar in the final [in 2023]. Emotions run high in those scenarios, you don't want anyone to get sent off or throw a punch. "You can see what it means to the players, we probably have to give them a bit of leeway. Thankfully it didn't go over the top, it's still not nice to see. We are always trying to encourage younger players to take up football but the passion was just a bit much."James McAtee, scorer of England's early opener, also epitomised the mood, the Manchester City midfielder ready and willing to dish it out. He said: "We were the two big teams in the tournament, so them kicking off, we can't just sit back and just let them do it. We have to give them a bit back, so I'm happy with the boys." Is it all coming together for England now? "I think there's still a lot more to come from the team. I said at the start of the tournament that the longer we can stay in I think the more joined up we'll become," said Carsley. The head coach has always been confident in his assertion England would start to find their feet and momentum in the competition as long as they qualified from the group. A win over the Czech Republic was followed by a draw with Slovenia and the defeat by Germany. Cresswell and Jay Stansfield produced standout performances while the substitutes also made an impact, especially Elliot Anderson after he came on soon after the break. "They are a really together group but I've been with together groups who have gone home quite early," said Carsley. "It was just a matter of time before it did click. I think our expectation of these players is always very high and I'm just glad that we've got into a position now where I feel that we've got a real good chance of pushing."Yet, despite saying he did not feel like an underdog going into the game against Spain, Carsley was reluctant to paint his side as tournament favourites now. He added: "We have to be humble. It's going to be a really difficult game, the semi-final. So we'll be fully prepared again. The Netherlands are another team we've watched for maybe six months now."We're fully aware of all their players, their strengths, their weaknesses. I've already got a few ideas on what we might change in terms of how we're going to build and attack them and you can guarantee we'll definitely be attacking them again." Making light of missing men Losing Liam Delap - the striker's £30m move from Ipswich to Chelsea saw him going with the Blues to the Club World Cup instead - robbed Carsley of a focal point up front. While it is easy to focus on the missing forward it created a clear problem, with England lacking a presence going forward and someone to finish off promising moves in the group continued to work good positions in the group stage - creating the third most chances in the tournament - but lacked the finishing touch. Marseille's Jonathan Rowe started up front in all three group games but failed to score and Stansfield was the only recognised out-and-out striker in the squad. The Birmingham striker scored 24 goals to help win the League One title last season and he does not have the physical presence of Delap yet he ran himself into the ground in Trnava. His selfless work opened space for others and he never gave the Spanish defence time to rest. The striker came off late on when it was clear he had nothing left in the Friday, Carsley spoke about taking more risks and being brave enough to potentially leave the gaps and that is exactly what he absence was key but he was not the only missing Bellingham's £33m move to Borussia Dortmund also saw him head Stateside with his new club, scoring against Mamelodi Sundowns a couple of hours before England kicked off in Trnava. Off the back of helping Sunderland return to the Premier League via the play-offs the midfielder would have undoubtedly been an asset for Carsley, as would Adam Wharton. The concussion Wharton suffered in Crystal Palace's FA Cup final triumph means he is another key man missing in this Taylor Harwood-Bellis, a winner in 2023, was absent with an ankle injury while Jarrad Branthwaite - also a champion two years ago - suffered a hamstring injury to keep him out. Despite the missing players, Carsley's band of brothers have shown they are ready to defend their title.

Metro

36 minutes ago

• Metro

Napoli open talks to sign another Man Utd star after Jadon Sancho agreement

Napoli are interested in signing another Manchester United star having enquired into a deal for Rasmus Hojlund. After a woeful second season in Manchester where he managed just four goals in 32 Premier League appearances, United are prepared to listen to offers for the Denmark international and make an upgrade up front ahead of the new campaign. Inter Milan have held talks with their Premier League counterparts in recent weeks over a move to bring the former Atalanta star back to Italy. The Nerazzurri are keen on a loan deal with an option to buy for €45million (£38m) but United are looking for a permanent arrangement. Hojlund is open to a return to Serie A this summer with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting Napoli are now back in the race to sign the 22-year-old. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. The Italian champions have been in contact with United to discuss the costs of the move with Antonio Conte eager for another option up top alongside Romelu Lukaku. Napoli haven also reached out to Hojlund's representatives with those conversations described as 'positive'. The striker is keen to work with Conte and play alongside the likes of Lukaku and summer signing Kevin de Bruyne – not to mention former United teammate Scott McTominay who has been an instant hit in Naples. While Inter are unable to provide the transfer fee United are looking for this summer, Napoli are in a better position to do so following the sale of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in January. Napoli are looking at other options, also holding discussions to sign Darwin Nunez from Liverpool. An asking price of €70m is problematic however, with Hojlund also having the advantage of Serie A experience behind him. United and Napoli have good business relations following McTominay's move last summer with the Italian giants credited with firm interest in another Old Trafford star. More Trending Earlier this week it was revealed the Italian side have made an approach to sign Jadon Sancho, one of a clutch of players who have been told they have no future under Ruben Amorim. After Chelsea decided against signing the former Borussia Dortmund star on a permanent deal, Napoli have emerged as favourites to sign him. Juventus are also keen but Sancho's preference is to join Conte's side, giving the move his approval this week. Napoli have also shown interest in Alejandro Garnacho, seeing a bid for the Argentina international rejected in January. While the winger is another who can leave United this summer, Napoli's interest in his services appears to have waned. MORE: Marc Guehi makes transfer decision after Arsenal and Liverpool interest MORE: Alexander Isak's stance on Liverpool transfer revealed with huge new asking price set MORE: Jurgen Klopp sends message to Florian Wirtz after record Liverpool transfer

North Wales Chronicle

41 minutes ago

• North Wales Chronicle

We deserve it so much – Harvey Elliott hails England's quarter-final victory

The Young Lions benefited from an early let-off after a VAR check resulted in an overturned penalty before captain James McAtee netted a 10th minute opener, Elliott scored five minutes later and substitute Elliot Anderson added a penalty in second-half stoppage time. Javi Guerra's 39th-minute penalty denied a clean sheet for the defending champions, but it was nevertheless a splendid night for Lee Carsley's men, who face the Netherlands in the final four on Wednesday. What a win. What a performance. OUR #YOUNGLIONS ARE INTO THE #U21EURO SEMI-FINALS! 👏 — England (@England) June 21, 2025 'Incredible. Lost for words, I think,' said Elliott. 'I said at the start of the game it was going to be very tough, they're going to play an incredible game against us, but I thought the way the lads handled it, handled the pressure, conceding a goal and being determined to keep on going, keep on fighting, we deserve it so much. 'Now it's kind of time to celebrate, but we need to think about the semis now. Celebrate, recover, rest, go again.' Tyler Morton will miss the last-four clash through suspension after he was booked against Spain, while Napoli's Rafa Marin saw red before a post-match scuffle broke out between the sides. Elliott added: 'It was always going to happen. I think it's just passion from both teams, it's just one of them. I was trying to calm everyone down, because at the end of the day we have everything to lose. They don't if they get sent off. 'We have to focus now, we can't get too carried away, we can't lose players for the semi-final.' Manchester City midfielder McAtee was more subdued than his team-mate, adding: 'We're over the moon, but the focus is the semi-final now. We're happy about the win, but we need to switch focus.' England boss Carsley was delighted by the way his men responded after nearly conceding a penalty in the early stages of the first half. 'We talked about getting a fast start and to give the penalty away after a minute, obviously then going to VAR – the lads showed a lot of character,' Carsley said. Through to the semis! 💪 — England (@England) June 21, 2025 'I thought the first half we were so good. I was saying before the game, I think the longer we can stay in, the more fluid we will become. Some really outstanding performances and they should be proud of themselves.' England will now get some much-needed rest and a day off before turning to their semi-final tie. Carsley added: 'The big thing is this can't be our final. This can't be our highlight of the competition, there's better nights to come.'