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The 41-year-old has become the third top scorer in the history of professional leagues in Spain, behind the Barcelona and Real Madrid legends.
History was made on Monday night in LaLiga SmartBank, as Rubén Castro climbed onto the podium of the greatest ever goalscorers in Spanish professional football.
Aged 41 years and 238 days, the Málaga CF forward opened and closed the scoring in his side’s 3-0 win over Real Zaragoza, equalling and overtaking the tally of league goals achieved by Real Sporting and FC Barcelona legend Quini.
By scoring his 284th and 285th goals in the professional Spanish football leagues of LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank, Castro became the top-scoring Spaniard in the history of these competitions.
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Following his record-breaking night, only two players have scored more goals than Castro, who now joins an elite list that includes Lionel Messi with 474, and Cristiano Ronaldo, with 311.
Castro’s road to history
Castro’s achievement was celebrated around the country as he has worn the shirts of 10 different professional clubs over 23 seasons, the longest-ever career in Spanish football.
The Canary Islander started out at local side UD Las Palmas, but also went on to play for RC Deportivo de La Coruña, Albacete Balompié, Real Racing Club de Santander, Gimnàstic de Tarragona, SD Huesca, Rayo Vallecano, Real Betis, FC Cartagena and now Málaga CF, scoring for all of them except Real Racing Club, where he made just one appearance.
At Real Betis, he enjoyed his greatest successes, playing for Los Verdiblancos from 2010 to 2018 and scoring the goals that fired them to important promotions in 2010/11 and 2014/15.
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He became a legend while wearing the famous green and white before he departed the Estadio Benito Villamarín for good in 2018 as their all-time top scorer. In 260 league appearances for Real Betis, Castro found the back of the net 135 times.
He’s still going strong
Perhaps what’s most impressive about Castro’s career is his longevity. Currently, in a record 23rd season, he is still one of the most lethal finishers in LaLiga SmartBank, as he also proved last year when his 20 goals for FC Cartagena made him the league’s fourth-top scorer.
In the history of Spanish league football, no player had scored goals over the age of 41 until Castro this season, who has seven since his 41st birthday.
More records on the horizon
He's indeed not done yet and could achieve another record before the 2022/23 season is finished. With his two goals on Monday night, Castro moved on to 192 goals in Spain’s second division, with the other 93 having come at LaLiga Santander level.
This means he is now just two goals away from Elche CF legend Nino’s LaLiga SmartBank record of 194 goals.
For Castro, however, his priority right now might not be breaking further records but saving Málaga CF from relegation.
Nevertheless, who is to say that he might not be able to achieve both feats over the next few weeks and months as he looks to fire Los Boquerones away from the drop zone?
A perfect night
The Spainard did react to his historic night after the game and described it as a 'perfect moment' after his side secured a crucial three points.
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“The team secured a win and I achieved the record I’d been looking for, so it was the perfect night," Castro said.
"It was good to achieve this in front of the home fans, who had been waiting a long time to witness a win. On top of that, the two goals meant I reached and passed that milestone.”
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