Bobby Charlton’s outstanding Man United record equalled by La Liga ace | OneFootball

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Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke has matched a brilliant record set by Manchester United icon Bobby Charlton.

Club legend

Charlton’s United career is widely considered one of the most iconic and resilient. He joined as a schoolboy in 1953 and turned professional a year later.

The Englishman spent 17 years with the Red Devils, amassing more than 700 appearances. He plundered 249 goals for the club.

Both his appearances and goalscoring records were later broken by Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney.

Charlton rose through the youth ranks and formed part of the famous “Busby Babes” side that won three straight FA Youth Cups (1954, 1955, 1956). He debuted for the first team on 6 October 1956 against Charlton Athletic at Old Trafford, scoring twice in a 4-2 win.

He contributed to United’s First Division title triumph in 1956/57. On 6 February 1958, Charlton survived the Munich plane crash that claimed the lives of most of his United teammates and he remained the last surviving player of what came to be known as the Munich Air Disaster.

The forward returned to action a mere 23 days later, anchoring Sir Matt Busby’s efforts to rebuild. Charlton then struck up a lethal alliance with Denis Law and George Best, the three of them sweeping the Ballon d’Or in successive years.

Charlton’s honours also included two additional First Division titles, the 1963 FA Cup and the 1968 European Cup, which he lifted as captain.

Never sent off throughout his career, Charlton was renowned for his elegance, explosive shooting and unselfish team play. He stayed a key figure into the early 1970s even as United’s form declined. His last outing came on 28 April 1973 in a 1–0 loss at Chelsea and he departed at the season’s end having set the club records for appearances and goals.

Record matched

Another weekend, another milestone for Koke, whose latest outing for Atletico saw him climb further up the ranks of Europe’s all-time greats.

The 34-year-old was part of Diego Simeone’s team for Sunday’s meeting with Real Sociedad. He came off the bench as Rojiblancos won 3-0.

The game marked Koke’s 746th appearance for Atletico, matching Charlton’s record.

Koke now sits only behind seven names when it comes to one-club players in the history of the sport. These seven individuals areGiggs, Paolo Maldini, Javier Zanetti, Igor Akinfeev, Francesco Totti, Giuseppe Bergomi and Jean-Luc Ettori.