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Ander Herrera Aguera

Athletic Bilbao trigger purchase option for PSG's Herrera

Herrera joined Athletic on an initial loan deal in August and has made 11 appearances this season, six of those being starts.

The 33-year-old, who was born in Bilbao and previously spent three years at Athletic from 2011, has now officially joined the LaLiga club until the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

Both sides confirmed the news on their official websites on Wednesday, with the deal going through prior to Tuesday's transfer deadline.

It brings an end to Herrera's time with PSG, whom he joined from Manchester United as a free agent in July 2019 and made 95 appearances for.

He won the Ligue 1 title, Coupe de France and Trophee des Champions twice each, while also lifting the Coupe de la Ligue, though he was never considered a regular starter.

Coronavirus: I felt worse than Mbappe when he was tested for COVID-19 – Herrera

Mbappe tested negative for coronavirus earlier this month, just days out from PSG's Champions League last-16 second leg against Borussia Dortmund.

But Herrera said he was in a worse condition than Mbappe, with the midfielder missing the clash due to a thigh injury.

"It was two days before PSG v Dortmund and the previous weekend Neymar had a group meal and I had been by his side," he told Cadena SER on Thursday.

"I was worse than him."

PSG's win over Borussia Dortmund behind closed doors which sent them into the Champions League quarter-finals was their last match with sport around the world brought to a standstill by the coronavirus pandemic.

The financial impact of the suspended, and potentially cancelled, seasons is set to be felt and Herrera is open to taking a pay cut.

"We have to be consistent with the situation of the clubs," he said.

"Personally, I am very grateful to PSG for having me here and of course I would listen to them."

Herrera: 'No better pairing' than Bielsa and Uruguay

Former Argentina, Athletic Bilbao and Leeds United boss Bielsa agreed to become Uruguay coach earlier this week.

The enigmatic Argentine, who was interviewed by Everton but reportedly turned the Premier League club down in January, was sacked by Leeds last year.

Bielsa is still a legend in the eyes of many Leeds fans, but is now back in work on the international scene, having taken charge of Uruguay, whose former coach Diego Alonso resigned following a group-stage exit from the World Cup in Qatar.

Ex-Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Herrera, who is now back at Athletic Bilbao, came through under Bielsa during the latter's stint in the Basque country between 2011 and 2013.

And he thinks that the combination of Bielsa and Uruguay is perfect.

Herrera told Stats Perform: "He is a coach that will be capable of getting the best from the players and as we say in Spain, he strikes a chord on his speeches.

"He connects with this sentimental aspect that the Uruguayan footballer already has for his country and national team.

"I couldn't find a better pairing than Uruguay and Marcelo for this moment of the Uruguayan national team."

Herrera loved working under Bielsa, though knows not every player will feel the same.

"He has demonstrated that he is a great coach in clubs and national teams, but I think that is true that the intensity that Marcelo [Bielsa] has, not all the players in a club can absorb it, let's say," Herrera added.

"But in my case yes, I did it with pleasure, I live for football, but you have to understand and respect the ones that take this as a profession.

"So maybe for a national team he can be ideal."

Bielsa is famous for the level of detail he goes into, not only when assessing his opponents, but also his own players.

"He doesn't do anything for nothing as we say, so if Marcelo has chosen Uruguay's project he must have studied deeply," Herrera explained.

"I am convinced that he must have watched the under-15 and the under-16 teams, all the players who could be selected and might be of help for the coming qualifying process for the next World Cup and Copa America.

"I think that with the character of Uruguayan footballers, it is a job that will fit like a hand in a glove for him."

Herrera, who sees similarities between the Basque attitude and that of Uruguayans, also had words of advice for younger players set to be coached by Bielsa.

"I would advise them to have their ears very open, try to be like a sponge because they will remember this period the rest of their lives," he said.

"For football lovers, addicts, who understand this profession as a way of life, the experience [with Bielsa] will be useful for them for the rest of their career.

"No doubt that sometimes there will be tough days, there will be days when they will really end up feeling exhausted.

"He [Bielsa] will go into detail, I am sure of this. To each of the Uruguayan players that he will call up he must have seen them 100 times, I am more than convinced."

Neymar and Mbappe will continue at PSG amid COVID-19 crisis – Herrera

PSG star Neymar has been linked with a return to LaLiga champions Barcelona, almost three years since his world-record €222million transfer.

Mbappe, meanwhile, is reportedly wanted by Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid, where Zinedine Zidane has made no secret of his admiration.

PSG team-mate Herrera, however, believes the pair are happy with the Ligue 1 holders in Paris.

"Mbappe and Neymar are still at PSG and even more so with the situation that we are currently in," Herrera told COPE.

"I had dinner with Neymar before the quarantine and he is very involved with the project. He told me that he has never been so happy in Paris.

"PSG's project is such that both feel fulfilled in Paris."

PSG were declared Ligue 1 champions after the 2019-20 season was cancelled last month due to the coronavirus pandemic in France.

Since swapping Barca for PSG in 2017, Neymar has won three successive Ligue 1 titles, to go with Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophee des Champions honours.

Mbappe, who initially joined PSG on loan from Monaco in 2017, has celebrated the same silverware as Neymar in the French capital.

Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Clermont: Mbappe on target in emphatic win without Messi & Neymar

Without Lionel Messi and Neymar, who along with Leandro Paredes and Angel Di Maria were given extra rest following their international exploits in midweek, PSG still made light work of sealing a fifth straight win.

Passed fit to feature after sustaining a calf injury while on France duty, Mbappe – the subject of three failed bids from Real Madrid at the end of August – scored his fourth goal of the season on a typically blistering counter-attack 10 minutes into the second half.

Herrera's first-half double had put PSG into a comfortable position, with promoted Clermont failing to test debutant Gianluigi Donnarumma despite plenty of attacking intent as Idrissa Gueye wrapped up an emphatic win.

Mbappe created PSG's first chance after 11 minutes, though Marquinhos was unable to direct the forward's free-kick either side of Arthur Desmas.

Clermont's resolve was punctured in the 20th minute, though – Herrera on hand to head home after Desmas had parried Achraf Hakimi's cross-shot.

Danilo Pereira would have made it 2-0 four minutes later if not for Akim Zedadka's block, yet PSG would not be denied for long.

Herrera was once again in the right place at the right time to pounce on a loose ball, this time lashing a finish into the roof of the net, while a goal-line block prevented Julian Draxler netting a third before half-time.

There was to be no such reprieve for Clermont early in the second half – Mbappe rounding the goalkeeper to finish coolly after racing onto Draxler's lofted pass.

Mbappe should have doubled his tally, or teed up Rafinha, just after the hour, only for the youngster to chip wide when one-on-one with Desmas.

He atoned moments later, a rebound from his shot falling to Gueye, who nodded in at the back post to cap off a slick display.