Atletico Madrid star Saul Niguez on 'crazy' Diego Costa, facing Chelsea in the Champions League and how a kick to the kidney left him scared for his life

  • Saul Niguez is set to feature for Atletico Madrid against Chelsea on Wednesday
  • The 22-year-old midfielder has come through a lot during his young career
  • Saul almost moved to Fulham as a teenager, while Man United were interested
  • He suffered serious kidney problems that could well have taken his life
  • But he overcame this adversity to become one of the very best in his position 

Diego Simeone likes his players to be able to run through brick walls for him.

Saul Niguez was ready to give up a kidney for the cause two years ago, so it's little wonder his coach has always fought off Premier League interest in the 22-year-old who will face Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Fulham wanted Saul when he was 16 and Manchester United wanted him long before he established himself in Atletico's first team but he stayed and even the burst kidney sustained in a Champions League game in 2015 against Bayer Leverkusen has not held him back.

Saul Niguez pictured at Atletico Madrid's training ground ahead of their meeting with Chelsea

Saul Niguez pictured at Atletico Madrid's training ground ahead of their meeting with Chelsea

Niguez celebrates his goal for Atletico at Leicester in last season's Champions League quarters

Niguez celebrates his goal for Atletico at Leicester in last season's Champions League quarters

The Atletico midfielder has come to embody the spirit of the club and will take on Chelsea

The Atletico midfielder has come to embody the spirit of the club and will take on Chelsea

His career nearly took a different path though after bursting his kidney in February 2015

His career nearly took a different path though after bursting his kidney in February 2015

Niguez hobbles off the pitch after sustaining the injury against Bayer Leverkusen

Niguez hobbles off the pitch after sustaining the injury against Bayer Leverkusen

Sitting down with Sportsmail ahead of the game he recounts that night two years ago when a kick from Kyriakos Papadopoulos threatened not just his career but his life.


'The worse thing about it was seeing my dad cry when I was still on the stretcher,' he says. 'I told him: "Relax, I'm as strong as an ox, don't worry I can take this". But seeing him that worried will stay with me forever.'

There was good reason. Saul had had surgery for renal colic the previous season and the kick in the same area had left him needing four days in hospital allowing doctors to drain his kidney and reduce the clot that had formed around the bruise.

'I had an internal catheter fitted and I had to take care. It left me sore and I was peeing blood,' he says of problems that would last for the next year.

Blood in the urine might have led some players to consider their careers, Saul contemplated something far more drastic.

'When I stopped using the catheter the kidney was still not working. I was given the option of playing for a month and then stopping for a month and so I said: "This is no good. If you can put the catheter in again and I can function normally then let's do that, but if not then just take the kidney out. It's fine. I've got another one".'

Saul answers questions from Sportsmail's Pete Jenson ahead of the match with Chelsea

Saul answers questions from Sportsmail's Pete Jenson ahead of the match with Chelsea

He has fought back to full fitness after suffering serious kidney problems two years ago

He has fought back to full fitness after suffering serious kidney problems two years ago

Atletico boss Diego Simeone demands absolute commitment and Saul unfailingly obliges

Atletico boss Diego Simeone demands absolute commitment and Saul unfailingly obliges

Saul was talked out of the extreme measure by Atletico Madrid No 2 German Burgos. Simeone's right-hand man, is a kidney cancer survivor.

'He told me I had to try other things. I said to him: "I'm tired of all this I want to get back to playing well and feeling well. I can't be thinking about what might happen if I get another kick".

'But German told me about all he had suffered, and he said: "Saul you are 22! What happens if you have a problem in the other kidney? Use your head. You can't just think about the football. You have to think about your future". 

'He made me see how serious it was.'

Saul is headstrong in part because he's from football stock. 

His father Jose Antonio played professionally, as did both his older brothers Aaron and Jonathan. Aaron, who is six years his senior, played for Spain Under 21s and went on loan to Rangers in 2008 but his promising career never recovered from a serious knee injury.

Saul, speaking to Sportsmail's Pete Jenson, could well have spent his career in England

Saul, speaking to Sportsmail's Pete Jenson, could well have spent his career in England

Saul celebrates scoring a crucial goal against Bayern Munich in the 2016 Champions League semi-finals. Atletico went on to win the tie, but lost to Real Madrid in the final

Saul celebrates scoring a crucial goal against Bayern Munich in the 2016 Champions League semi-finals. Atletico went on to win the tie, but lost to Real Madrid in the final

Saul, who signed a nine-year contract at Atletico, has become the heartbeat of the side

Saul, who signed a nine-year contract at Atletico, has become the heartbeat of the side

'He went from being one of the best in Spain to disappearing from the map. His career had been a bed of roses and Barca and Chelsea were interested in him. When he returned nobody was interested. Everything changed.'

Seeing Aaron's career disintegrate gave Saul a sense of urgency that could easily have brought him to England when he was still a teenager.

'Fulham wanted me when I was 16,' he says. 'They were in the Premier League at the time with Mark Hughes and I was close to going.'

Current Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas had blazed a trail some years before. 'Right there I had the example to follow. They had a plan for me to train with them for three months and then to start playing directly. 

'I could go from the Atletico B team to the Premier League. I felt ready to make that jump. Thank God I never went and that I am where I am today.'

He has overcome health problems to become one of the world's best midfielders

He has overcome health problems to become one of the world's best midfielders

Saul is mobbed after scoring that important goal for Atletico against Bayern Munich

Saul is mobbed after scoring that important goal for Atletico against Bayern Munich

He rises highest to score a crucial away goal in the quarter-final with Leicesterlast season

He rises highest to score a crucial away goal in the quarter-final with Leicesterlast season

Atletico Madrid loaned him to Rayo Vallecano instead and Manchester United scout at the time Martin Ferguson began making regular trips to see him play.

Within a season Saul had convinced Simeone that he was ready to do a job for Atletico. The kidney scare slowed him down but only temporarily and his wonder goal in 2016 knocked Bayern Munich out of the Champions League, leaving Pep Guardiola hailing him as Spain's next big thing.

Last July he agreed a new nine-year contract. 'I signed until 2026 because I think I can still improve with this club,' he says, although he remains a huge Premier League fan who has also made strides in learning English.

The visit of Chelsea will be a reminder of the other path he might have taken. He'll face Fabregas, Spain team-mate Pedro, and former Atletico keeper Thibaut Courtois. 

'The good thing for us is that we know him,' he says. 'We know his strong points and his weak points. He is a great keeper. One of the best five in the world.'

One man he will not face is Diego Costa, successfully repatriated to Simeone's Atletico.

Diego Costa, newly re-signed from Chelsea, watches Atletico's match against Sevilla

Diego Costa, newly re-signed from Chelsea, watches Atletico's match against Sevilla

Atletico are getting used to their stunning new stadium, the Wanda Metropolitano 

Atletico are getting used to their stunning new stadium, the Wanda Metropolitano 

'You realise everyone in England thinks he's a bit of a crackpot', I put to him, suggesting that he's probably nowhere near as crazy when you get to know him.

'No he's a crazy,' interrupts Saul. 'But he's pure vitality and that vitality is good for us. He transmits a positive energy around the place and on the pitch he gives nothing up. 

'There's a pass played and you see it as a lost cause but suddenly he appears and he's fighting for it. And if I see him up there chasing for everything then I feel my obligation to do the same. It runs through the whole team.'

This feels like a great time to be at Atletico with Costa back and the paint still fresh on their new 68,000 stadium. 

The plan was to ask him what comes first: a move to the Premier League or winning the Champions League here? For now the answer seems obvious.

'It would be incredible. To do it this season, or next when we have the final at home,' he says.

'We know how difficult it is to reach a final let alone win it. But it would be beautiful.'

The Wanda Metropolitano will host the 2019 Champions League final 

The Wanda Metropolitano will host the 2019 Champions League final 

 

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