Mexican striker Raul Jimenez appeared to be on the verge of swapping Atletico Madrid for West Ham United in the summer of 2015.
If Raul Jimenez had remembered to set his alarm, perhaps he would be stumbling around the no man’s land of the Premier League mid-table. Instead, in a curious quirk of fate, the Mexican frontman has just scored the goal that puts his current club on the verge of a league title.
According to The Sun, Jimenez overslept on the morning of his medical at West Ham United in August 2015, costing the Atletico Madrid outcast the chance to become one of Slaven Bilic’s first signings at the capital club.
As a result, he put pen to paper with Benfica just a few hours later. The striker’s agent, Jorge Mendes, played down claims that a snooze button cost him his Premier League chance, however.
He suggested to Diario AS that his client was simply more enticed by the prospect of playing Champions League football under the lights of the Estadio de la Luz rather than straining to get on the end of Mark Noble free-kicks in West London.
Though it’s fair to say Jimenez will have few regrets about his decision right about now. Following months on the sidelines with a succession of injuries, the El Tri targetman returned to action in style with the only goal in Benfica’s 1-0 win against Rio Ave at the weekend.
The victory carried the distinct feel of a title decider. The Eagles are now five points clear of second placed Porto with just two games to go.
And while West Ham enjoyed a fairly satisfactory weekend themselves, beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 to effectively end their rival’s title hopes, you can forgive Jimenez for paying tribute to his faulty alarm – or the rather commendable decision to choose trophies in Portugal over wages in England.
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