Athletic Captain
With the 0-0 draw against RCD Mallorca on Monday evening, Athletic Bilbao did not achieve the result they had hoped for from the LaLiga opener in front of their home crowd – but at least one could celebrate a special occasion: Homegrown and captain Iker Muniain stood up for his club a total of 500 times in a competitive game on the pitch. In Europe’s top 20 leagues, only ten professionals have played more games for their current club than the 29-year-old midfielder, who, if unharmed, should be catching up given his age.
Ahead of Muniain in the ranking are five other LaLiga pros: Sergio Busquets (681 games) and Gerard Piqué (606) from FC Barcelona, Real Madrid’s top striker Karim Benzema (607), Atlético homegrown Koke (546) and Jesús Navas ( 597) from FC Sevilla. The 36-year-old right-back, Barças Piqué and Joaquín (451) from Real Betis would probably play significantly more games if they had not left their club in the meantime. Joaquín was absent from the Seville club for nine years, playing for Valencia, Malaga and Fiorentina. Meanwhile, Thomas Müller from FC Bayern Munich is also on the podium. The 32-year-old currently has 628 games for the record champions – and only extended his contract until 2024 in May.
Muniain: 500 Bilbao games – 10 professionals around Müller with more missions for their club
For the Athletic Club from the Basque Country, only five players have featured more often than Muniain in the club’s history: Markel Susaeta (507), Andoni Iraola (510), Joseba Etxeberria (514), Txetxu Rojo (541) and record player José Ángel Iribar ( 614). Only the latter should be a hurdle for Muniain on the way to the club record. Behind him is Óscar de Marcos, a teammate in the ranking of players who have currently played the most games for their club. The 33-year-old right-back has 457 games for Bilbao, so he could still crack the 500.
Iker Muniain. –
temporadas.
partidos. #AthleticRCDMalorca #AthleticClub pic.twitter.com/a44dWMMBje— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) August 15, 2022
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