Former Premier League star Sergio Rico set for shock transfer just 16 months after cheating death in horror horse fall

FORMER Premier League star Sergio Rico is set for a shock transfer 16 months after cheating death.

The goalkeeper suffered a head injury in May 2023 in a horse-riding accident, which left him in an induced coma for three weeks.

Rico, 31, was reported to have been just "half a centimetre" from dying but thankfully survived.

He was treated at the Virgen del Rocio Hospital in Sevilla and was supported by his family and wife Alba Silva.

Despite getting the green light from doctors to return to playing, he did not feature for Paris Saint-Germain again.

He left the French giants at the end of the last season and is currently a free agent.

The Spaniard is believed to be set to return to the pitch with a new club.

French outlet has claimed that he is in advanced negotiations to join Qatar side Al-Gharafa.

It is suggested that he will fly to the Middle East to complete a move in the "coming hours".

After he was brought out of the coma, Rico admitted that football was a big reason why he survived.

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He said: "The truth is that I owe everything to football. It is my entire life.

"A doctor told me that my arteries were more resistant than those of a normal person who didn't play as much sport as me.

"I feel very lucky to be alive, because it was a very serious accident and my life was at stake.

"When I awoke from my coma I asked the doctor if I would be able to play football once again.

"He was very surprised, and started saying how I had suffered a serious accident.

"But he said yes, I could, and I was so relieved I almost jumped out of my hospital bed.

"Life is very important. Nobody wants to die, but had I been forced to retire from football, I ask myself would it have been worthwhile?"

Rico last played a professional match in LaLiga during a loan spell at Real Mallorca in 2022.

He spent the 2018/19 season on loan at Fulham and featured 29 times in the Premier League.

Rico managed to usurp Marcus Bettinelli from the starting line-up but could not prevent the club from being relegated.