Profile

Fernando Morientes was signed by Rafael Benitez from Real Madrid.

He started to make a name for himself at Albacete in 1993.

He played two seasons there and scored five goals in 22 League matches. Fernando became a Real Madrid player in 1997 after spending two successful years at Real Zaragoza. Being at Madrid gave him the opportunity to show his talents in Europe's biggest club competition. He won the Champions League with Madrid in 2000 and 2002 and was also a finalist with Monaco in 2004, scoring nine goals in 12 games en route to the final against Porto, an achievement that won him an award as European Striker of the Year. Before he moved on loan to France in 2004, he won a third European cup winners' medal after appearing in the Madrid team that defeated Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 final in Glasgow.

Morientes scored a total of 72 goals in around 180 league games for Real Madrid and won two Spanish titles whilst at The Bernabeu. Ronaldo’s arrival in Madrid was the beginning of the end for Morientes, who had been relegated to fourth choice striker in 2004-2005.

Morientes didn't live up to his big reputation at Liverpool and joined Valencia after a 16-month spell at Anfield. His class and experience were there for all to see but he found the physical demands of the English league and the pace tough. He was also frustratingly cup-tied for the remainder of Liverpool's successful 2004-05 Champions League campaign because he had already played for Madrid in the same competition earlier in the season.

Moving back to Spain in July, 2006 seemed to resurrect his club career and Fernando proved that he could still perform to a high standard in his early-30s by scoring nearly 30 goals in his first two seasons back in La Liga with Valencia. Despite not being picked for the Spanish squad that won the 2008 European championship, he was one of the main strikers in the qualifying campaign. So there may still be time to add to his already-impressive total of 27 goals in 47 senior games for his country.

He joined Marseille in July 2009.

Other Clubs:
Albacete, Zaragoza, Real Madrid, Monaco (loan), Valencia, Marseille