by Middlesbrough on 6 January 2006 and sought to join a new club, but he withdrew his request on 20 January 2006, and rejoined the team. A fractured cheekbone sustained against West Ham United, however, looked like it had ruled Schwarzer out for the rest of the season, but he returned for the UEFA Cup final against Sevilla, albeit playing with a protective mask. When he played in Middlesbrough's 1–0 victory over Portsmouth on 29 December 2007, he became the Premier League's longest-serving foreigner at one club, surpassing Dennis Bergkamp's record of 315 matches. Schwarzer's final Middlesbrough appearance came in an 8–1 victory over Manchester City on the final day of the 2007–08 Premier League season, after he had made 446 appearances in all competitions. Fulham Schwarzer's contract with Middlesbrough expired in June 2008, and although he was offered a new contract, manager Gareth Southgate had to plan a future with a new goalkeeper as, on 21 May 2008, Schwarzer signed a two-year contract at Fulham, ending an 11-year association with the Teesside club. Schwarzer revealed in an interview with The World Game that he had received offers from Bayern Munich and Juventus but declined their offers because they could not guarantee him the position as the number-one goalkeeper. Schwarzer made his Fulham debut in a 2–1 defeat to newly promoted Premier League side Hull City, but he followed up by keeping a clean sheet in his next match in a 1–0 win at home to Arsenal and played every minute of the 2008–09 season. He kept ten clean sheets during the 2008–09 season in all competitions. Schwarzer's contribution was important as his performances lead Fulham to a seventh-place finish and a place in Europe for the next season, after the club had only just avoided relegation during the 2007–08 season. He received the Fulham Player of the Year 2008–09 in his first year at the club. He was also named the Premier League's Player of the Month for February 2010, in which he only conceded one goal in his team's two wins and two draws that month, making him the first Australian to do so. He played an important role in Fulham reaching the Europa League final in 2010, but Schwarzer lost his second European final with a narrow defeat to Atlético Madrid. Following his performances during the 2009–10 season, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger attempted to sign Schwarzer. It