Real Betis captain Joaquin moves into fourth in La Liga appearance records

Real Betis captain Joaquin made his 542nd appearance in La Liga tonight, putting him in joint fourth position in the all-time appearance record in the division.

The 38-year-old scored a wonderfully crafted goal – his eighth league goal of the campaign – but his side were unable to close out the three points, as they were held in a 3-3 draw by Real Mallorca.

Andoni Zubizarreta (Barcelona) leads the way on 622 appearances, with Raul Gonzalez (Real Madrid) second on 550, while Eusebio Sacristan (Valladolid and Barça) made 543 and Paco Buyo (Sevilla and Madrid) also had 542.

Joaquin has made a grand total of 762 club appearances across his career, alongside winning 51 caps for the Spanish national team.

“If on three occasions they get close to your goal and they score three times, it’s hard to win,” an angry Joaquin told La Liga TV after the match.

“Europe? We do not want to throw the season in but the truth is that we are a long way away from that.

“We feel that the fans are very disappointed.”

Joaquin scored his first ever career hat-trick in the recent 3-2 win over Athletic Club Bilbao – the first of his career and becoming the oldest player to ever score a treble in Spain’s top flight.

He has made 147 La Liga appearances since returning to his boyhood club Betis from Fiorentina in the summer of 2015.

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