Koke extends with Atlético Madrid, but Ryan Giggs remains out of reach for the time being
With a new contract with Atlético Madrid, club icon Koke continues to expand his impressive number of appearances. Yet Ryan Giggs' record is still far from sight.
Koke has signed a new deal with Atlético Madrid, which will continue his long tenure with the club for the time being. With 740 official matches since his debut in September 2009, the captain is the absolute record holder at Atlético. Both the club and Koke himself indicated that they hope that the collaboration will continue for years to come.
Koke now finds himself in an illustrious list of players who spent their entire professional career at one major club in Europe, within the five largest competitions. The European record is still held by Ryan Giggs, who wore the Manchester United shirt no fewer than 963 times in 24 seasons. Giggs played his last game for United in 2014 at the age of 40.
Paolo Maldini follows in second place with 903 matches for AC Milan, while Francesco Totti is in third place after 785 matches at AS Roma. Directly in front of Koke is Giuseppe Bergomi, who made 754 appearances for Internazionale. Koke therefore needs fourteen more games to match and pass Bergomi on this prestigious list.
It is striking that Thomas Müller was high in the rankings for years with 742 matches, but has now dropped out of the list due to his switch to the Vancouver Whitecaps. After all, the list only includes players who stayed with one club for their entire professional career.
To ever break Giggs' record, Koke will have to maintain his high number of annual appearances for at least another four seasons. A significant challenge, although Koke will remain captain of Atlético for the coming season and is at the forefront of the club's battle plan.
From a global perspective, the ultimate record remains in the name of Rogério Ceni, the Brazilian goalkeeper who played 1,197 official matches for São Paulo - an absolute world champion in loyalty to one club.
Related Articles
Related articles
Teams
Serie A begint aan lange interlandbreak: ruim 200 spelers
De Serie A staat voor een historische stop: drie weken geen competitievoetbal doordat circa 200 spelers zijn opgeroepen voor hun nationale teams. Clubs als Atalanta, Inter en Milan zien een groot deel van hun selectie vertrekken voor interlands.
Teams
Álvaro Núñez na nederlaag van Celta bij Omonia
Álvaro Núñez reageert na Celta’s nederlaag bij Omonia Nicosia: te weinig kansen, grote efficiëntieproblemen en de noodzaak om zaterdag tegen Racing de Santander de ban te breken. Sergio Carreira roept het team op een stap naar voren te zetten.
Teams
Deze amateurclubs zijn van de partij in de eerste ronde van
Met vier direct geplaatste teams en veertien kwalificanten is het deelnemersveld voor de KNVB Beker grotendeels bekend. De loting voor de eerste ronde volgt vrijdag, waarbij ook clubs uit de Keuken Kampioen Divisie en Eredivisie instromen.
Teams
Laatste getuige in Maradona-proces: dood door covid-19 valt
Forensisch expert Pablo Ferrari, als laatste getuige gehoord in het proces rond de dood van Diego Maradona, stelt dat covid-19 als doodsoorzaak niet kan worden uitgesloten omdat bij de autopsie geen test is gedaan. Zijn visie wijkt af van eerdere experts en kan belangrijk zijn voor de verdediging van arts Leopoldo Luque.