Former Real Madrid and Liverpool star reveals health scare and thanks doctors for ‘saving his life’

A former Liverpool and Real Madrid star has opened up on a health battle that left him ‘scared to death’.

The former player, who won an array of trophies during his illustrious career, suffered a pulmonary embolism following numerous plane trips.

A blood clot had formed in his knee due to the excess air on the plane.

He detailed the challenges of his experience that led to him remaining in hospital for five days

Furthermore, he thanked the doctors for ‘saving his life’.

He admitted that he will now have to be more careful with regards to how much travelling he does.

A former Liverpool and Real Madrid star opened up on a health issue that left him in hospital

Fernando Morientes explained that he became aware of the issue initially when his chest started to hurt.

Morientes told Marca: ‘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.’

Morientes recalled how he struggled during his time in the hospital.

He said: ‘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 ‘

Morientes revealed that doctors told him he would make a full recovery and that now he would ‘have to choose his travels more carefully.’

The former Spain international outlined how important it is to be aware of this issue.

He 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.’

Ex-Liverpool forward Morientes revealed his struggles during his time in hospital

During an illustrious career Morientes won the Champions League three times with Real Madrid

After starting out at Albacete and joining Real Zaragoza, Morientes signed for Real Madrid in 1997.

He scored 100 goals in 272 appearances for Real Madrid and won the Champions League three times as well as winning LaLiga twice before having a loan spell at Monaco.

Morientes signed for Liverpool in January 2005 and won the FA Cup in 2006. He scored 12 times in 61 games for the Reds.

He later played for Valencia and Marseille, while he scored 27 goals in 47 caps for Spain.