Muniain makes his 500th official appearance

Muniain makes his 500th official appearance

The skipper becomes just the sixth Lion in history to play 500 matches in the red-and-white shirt

After starting in Sunday's LaLiga match against Real Mallorca at San Mamés, Iker Muniain has reached 500 official matches with Athletic Club. At 29 years old, the playmaker now joins an exclusive group of just six footballers who have made 500 or more official appearances for Los Leones: Iribar (614), Rojo I (541), Etxeberria (514), Iraola (510) and Susaeta (507).

Muniain joined the club as a 12-year-old, with Athletic's world-renowned academy Lezama helping to shape him both as a person and a footballer. Iker played his first official match for Athletic on July 30, 2009 as a 16-year-old, coming on as a second-half substitute against Young Boys in the home leg of our 2009/10 Europa League qualifier.

Fourteen seasons later, and with two serious injuries in between, he has reached the milestone of 500 appearances. Athletic's no.10 has scored a total of 71 senior goals, those strikes coming in LaLiga, the Copa, Champions League and Europa League.

A breakdown of Muniain's appearances for Athletic so far::

•    384 in LaLiga
•    7 in the Champions League
•    54 in the Europa League
•    50 in Copa del Rey
•    4 in the Spanish Super Cup

The six players with 500 or more official appearances for Athletic Club:

•    José Ángel Iribar: 614
•    Txetxu Rojo: 541
•    Joseba Etxeberria: 514
•    Andoni Iraola: 510
•    Markel Susaeta: 507
•    Iker Muniain: 500