Ex-Liverpool star and Champions League winner left 'almost dying' in hospital (2025)

Fernando Morientes has spoken for the first time since he was left hospitalised through a pulmonary embolism - something which is life-threatening if not urgently treated

Fernando Morientes has opened up about being hospitalised for a pulmonary embolism which almost killed him.

And the 2006 FA Cup champion, who spent 18 months with Liverpool has now detailed the horrifying ordeal. He is currently working as a LaLiga pundit in Spain and told COPE's 'Tiempo de Juego': "I was feeling ill after so many trips.

"On one of them, my chest started to hurt, a stabbing pain below my sternum. I thought it was something stomach-related and didn't want to go to the hospital. But that night I felt something and immediately went to the doctor.

"They started looking at my heart and saw nothing until they found an effusion in the pleura. It was a pulmonary embolism." As per the NHS, a pulmonary embolism can be life-threatening if not treated quickly, so Morientes' decision to go to the doctor may have ultimately saved his life, reports the Liverpool Echo.

He added: "It's a clot that formed in my knee due to the excess air on the plane and in the stationary car. My blood began to thicken in the air and rose to my lung.

"I spent five days in the hospital, almost dying." Thankfully for Morientes, he indicated that a full recovery is possible - although doctors have advised him to "choose his travels more carefully".

In a bid to raise awareness for the condition, Morientes said: "It's important that people who travel several times a week know about these dangers. It's a good idea to carry heparin, and you can travel if necessary.

"If you don't, I recommend making better decisions and not traveling all the time like I do." Liverpool supporters will have fond memories of Morientes' £6.3million arrival from Real Madrid in January 2005.

The decorated forward, with titles including two LaLiga trophies and three Champions Leagues with the Spanish giants, was welcomed by club icon Steven Gerrard, who said of the signing: "You know you're not taking a risk. It's good from a symbolic point of view that we've signed someone who's so renowned as a world-class player.

"I just hope, after all the success he's had and trophies he's won, he's as hungry to do the same for us." Though cup-tied for the 2004/05 Champions League season which concluded with Liverpool's legendary Istanbul victory, Morientes managed to grab silverware with the team in the form of the FA Cup the following season.

However, his tenure at Anfield saw him net just 12 goals over 18 months, leading to his inevitable departure from Rafael Benitez's squad – before he finished off his playing days with stints at Valencia and Marseille.

In the years since, Morientes dipped his toes into the world of management, overseeing the likes of Huracan and Real Madrid's youth systems, as well as Fuenlabrada. He then transitioned into punditry, working as a pundit for COPE and travelling across Spain to cover La Liga.

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