Iñaki Williams to make 500th Athletic appearance, eighth in club history | OneFootball

Iñaki Williams is set to play his 500th official match for Athletic on Saturday against Girona, becoming the club's eighth player to reach the mark.

As reported by as.com, the seven to have done so before him are Iribar on 614, De Marcos 573, Muniain 560, Txetxu Rojo 541, Etxeberria 514, Iraola 510 and Susaeta 507. Williams could catch Etxeberria and Iraola by the end of this season if he plays the 11 league games remaining.

Iñaki, from Bilbao and 31, debuted for the first team in December 2014 against Córdoba at San Mamés under Ernesto Valverde. Across 12 seasons he has played 396 Liga matches, 52 in the Copa del Rey, three in the Champions League, 42 in the Europa League and six in the Supercopa, scoring 114 goals.

That tally places him 19th on Athletic's all-time scoring list, two short of the 116 managed by Rafa Iriondo and Julen Guerrero, and four behind Carlos Ruiz, Manu Sarabia and Fernando Llorente on 118.

He set the La Liga consecutive appearances record at 251 in 2023, having not missed a game since April 2016 against Atlético at San Mamés. The run ended away to Celta at Balaídos due to a right hamstring overload.

He had earlier surpassed the club mark in December 2019 at San Mamés, eclipsing goalkeeper Carmelo Cedrún's 132. He then overtook Larrañaga in October 2021 against Alavés at La Catedral.

Source: as.com