Unai Simón wants more: "We can keep climbing"

Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simón won the Yashin Trophy and says there's still room to climb higher despite achieving his childhood dream.

Unai Simón has won the Yashin Trophy as the world's best goalkeeper while playing for Athletic Bilbao, fulfilling an ambition he stated two years ago when he renewed his contract without a release clause. "It's something I didn't even dream of as a kid," he said on the club's Athletic Talks podcast. "I told myself, don't dream of such strong things, dream of playing one day at San Mamés, of being a professional goalkeeper. But I didn't tell people 'I'm going to be the best goalkeeper in the world'." Despite the achievement, Simón insists the journey is far from over. "It seems we've reached a point where we've touched the ceiling, but we can still climb higher," he said. He acknowledged he's not yet fully conscious of what he's accomplishing, either personally or collectively with Athletic and Spain. Simón joins an illustrious lineage of Athletic goalkeepers including Iribar and Zubizarreta, though he prefers to forge his own path rather than compare himself to predecessors. His focus remains on enjoying his time at the club and giving everything for his teammates.