Mikel Merino: “I’m lucky to be alive”

“I’m lucky to be alive”: Mikel Merino uses those words to describe the impact of a seat change that transformed his life. At the time, the footballer had no idea that what seemed a simple decision could save his life.

He says he believes “things happen for a reason”. That day, a seat was empty, so he took it; looking back, he thinks the choice may have made all the difference. He remembers a deafening noise, followed by the bus almost overturning. When he looked behind him, he saw blood on the floor, smoke and heard screams.

It was not until the following day that he understood what might have happened had he stayed in his usual seat beside Marc. He was told that a large piece of shrapnel had become lodged in the headrest of the neighbouring seat. “I think I have a guardian angel. In fact, I’m lucky to be alive,” he said. After the incident, life went on and Merino continued forward.

The footballer also spoke about another ordeal: a stress fracture in his right foot that nearly kept him out of the World Cup. In February, a medical presentation revealed the scale of the problem. “The club doctor and the head of physiotherapy went through the slides one by one. We were fighting for the Premier League. The World Cup was just around the corner.” When he was told the recovery would take six months, all he could think about was missing the tournament.

After leaving, he drove home in silence before breaking down as he told his wife. “My head had already understood it, but my heart needed me to say it out loud,” he explained. He says that once the fog began to lift, he wondered whether the ordeal had happened for a reason. Doctors expected him to miss the World Cup; Merino was ultimately able to join the national team, perhaps, the account suggests, because of the way he sees life.