The news stunned the Basque capital Bilbao.
The workers talked of little else down by Frank Gehry's dramatic Guggenheim Museum. In the cafes of the old town and the coffee shops across the Nervion River, they digested the news that Francisco Yeste was leaving their Athletic.
This was not how it was supposed to be. The 30-year-old winger had been at his hometown club since he was 12. He had progressed through the famed Lezama academy, then the club's youth and reserve teams, fulfilling the dream of generations of Basque boys.
On February 7, 1999, Francisco Javier Yeste Navarro made his debut in a Primera Liga game against Racing Santander, another team with an anglicised name which respected their English founders from along Spain's northern Atlantic coast.
Yeste was 19, but success came fast. He was an Under 20 World Cup winner for Spain that summer alongside Xavi of Barcelona. He later played for Spain's Under 21s, but never moved up to full international level. The World Cup medal would prove to be the only one of his career, but the greatest honour was playing for Athletic Bilbao, the club who use only Basque players.
By 21, Yeste had established himself as a first-team regular at the stadium locals reverentially call The Cathedral, an arena they fill close to its 42,000 capacity every week. Yeste would go on to play more than 350 games for Athletic in the next decade, scoring over 50 goals. Like any career, he had his ups and downs.
Injuries played a part, as did coaches who did not favour him as much as others. He was a cool kid, not adverse to the Bilbao nightlife with fellow player Asier Del Horno. The local press named the pair "Zippy and Zappy" after two cartoon characters in Spain.
On his day, Yeste was spectacular, with as sweet a left foot as any in Spanish football. Off form, he appears lackadaisical and, like any winger, inclined to attract abuse from supporters for failing to beat his man. Yeste bristled at the criticism. He did things his way, even if it did not go with convention.
By last season his situation had deteriorated. Joaquin Caparros, his coach, favoured emerging youngsters and players who ran themselves into the ground rather than those who displayed the outlandish skills of Yeste.
There was also Igor Gabilondo, signed from neighbours Real Sociedad in 2006, capable of playing in the same position. He too boasted a fine left foot. Yeste was criticised and fell out of favour with his coach, but few knew that he was playing through the pain with a groin injury because he was encouraged to.
Always willing to make a sacrifice for Athletic, he agreed. Still, Yeste was perceived to be a senior professional, the captain-in-waiting following the retirement of the iconic Joseba Etxeberria - who spent last season playing for free because he wanted to repay the people who had supported him throughout his career.
But Yeste felt very differently. With every reason, he felt that he should be paid his worth - around €1 million (Dh5.09m) per season. Such a wage would not be unusual for a player of his standing, but Bilbao had to deal with a harsh new economic reality of Spanish football.
Real Madrid and Barcelona could compete with the best, but television revenues were much smaller, even at the bigger clubs like Athletic.
The Basques also had youngsters like Javi Martinez, the Spanish international who was earning a quarter of what Yeste wanted. Gradually, the idea of him moving slipped from being inconceivable to probable. He maintained that he wanted to "continue with Athletic and end my career in Bilbao" but stated that he "felt hurt" by what his club were prepared to pay.
Yeste did not want to play against his beloved Athletic and so ruled out moving to other clubs in Spain.
Al Wasl in Dubai became the desired suitors which surprised many in Spain, but Yeste was out of contract and available on a free transfer. Wasl have signed a player in his prime, blessed with enough skill to stand out at the Bernabeu or Camp Nou.
sports@thenational.ae
