A little more than two years after his brother Pau, Spanish pivot Marc Gasol announced Wednesday that he was ending his two-decade career among the world’s basketball elite, during a press conference in Barcelona . “The time has come for me to step back and pass on everything that basketball has taught me and given me,” said the younger brother of Pau (43), who retired from playing in October 2021.
Marc Gasol, aged 39, will however remain linked to the world of basketball as president of the Catalan club Girona. “I had to do it, if I had continued playing it could have had serious consequences,” he added, admitting that his decision was the result of a “long and difficult process”.
“The (contract) proposals that I received made my decision more difficult,” he admitted, before rejoicing at now being able to devote more time to his family. “I want to be a better father, a better husband, a better friend,” he continued. “Basketball often makes you isolate yourself and not be present as you should be.”
Marc Gasol has an NBA championship title with the Toronto Raptors (2019), as well as two world championship titles with the Spanish team (2006, 2019). He also won two Olympic silver medals (Beijing 2008 and London 2012) and two European Championships (Poland 2009) and Lithuania (2011), among other distinctions.