Atlético Madrid captain Koke has broken into the top 10 of La Liga's all-time appearance makers. The midfielder reached his 524th match in the top flight during Sunday's fixture at the Anoeta stadium, moving past Manolo Sanchís into tenth place in the competition's history.
The club publicly congratulated its leader on this new milestone. "Congratulations on this latest achievement, captain!" said Atlético Madrid in an official statement published on their website.
A legendary career
Koke joined the Atlético Academy in 2000 at the age of eight. His first-team debut came on 19 September 2009 against FC Barcelona. Since then, he has played 746 competitive matches for the red and white shirt, scoring 40 goals and providing 94 assists in La Liga alone. His career is a model of loyalty and consistent performance in the heart of midfield.
The milestone was achieved during the 0-3 victory over Real Sociedad, a result that helps the team stay in fourth place in the standings, with 10 points from five games. The squad now faces the next league challenge, a match against Osasuna at the Metropolitano, with several key absences including Alexander Sørloth, Julián Álvarez and Pablo Barrios. Fans can check the full squad status and match schedule on our injuries and fixtures pages.
Ahead of Koke on the all-time list are legends like Andoni Zubizarreta and Joaquín, tied at the top with 622 appearances each. They are followed by Raúl García (609), Antoine Griezmann (564), Dani Parejo (558), Raúl González (550), Eusebio Sacristán (543), Paco Buyo (542) and Sergio Ramos (536). The Atlético captain, on 524, still has room to climb further in the coming years of his career.
