It was a milestone that deserved a celebration. Instead, Iñaki Williams marked his 500th appearance for Athletic Club on Saturday with a defeat as Girona ran out 3-0 winners at Estadi Montilivi to dampen what should have been an afternoon of pure joy in the Basque Country.
Hugo Rincón opened the scoring in the first half, before Azzedine Ounahi doubled the lead and Claudio Echeverri added a third to complete a comprehensive home victory that Athletic had no answer to on the day.
The result, however, cannot diminish what Williams has achieved. He now joins a group of only 19 current professionals in European football who have played 500 or more competitive matches for one club.
Born in Bilbao, Raised in Red and White
Williams’ story is one of the most compelling in modern football. Born in Bilbao to Ghanaian parents who had arrived in Spain by crossing the Sahara on foot and jumping the Melilla border fence.
Williams grew up in Pamplona before the pull of Athletic Club's famous Cantera, the academy that only accepts players from the Basque Country, shaped him into the player he would become.
On 6 December 2014, benefitting from Aritz Aduriz's injury, Williams made his first-team debut, starting in a 1-0 home loss against Cordoba. He was raw, electric, and barely known outside of Bilbao. Few could have predicted that over a decade later, he would still be pulling on the same shirt as captain and as one of the greatest servants in the club's 125-year history.
He netted his first goal on 19 February of the following year, scoring in a 2-2 draw at Torino in the UEFA Europa League, becoming in the process the first black player to score for the club.
The Numbers That Tell a Story
Across those 500 appearances, Williams has contributed 114 goals and 66 assists. His appearances break down as 396 in La Liga, 52 in the Copa del Rey, 42 in the Europa League, three in the Champions League, and six in the Supercopa.
His scoring tally places him 19th on Athletic's all-time scoring list, two short of the 116 managed by Rafa Iriondo and Julen Guerrero.
Perhaps more remarkable than the goals, though, is the consistency behind the numbers. Williams holds the La Liga record for most consecutive appearances, playing in 251 successive fixtures between April 2016 and January 2023.
That run that stretched across six full seasons and redefined what is possible for an outfield player in Spanish football. Known for his frightening pace, he regularly hits speeds in excess of 35 kilometres per hour, and when he gets going, it is devastating.
Trophies to Match the Legacy
The personal milestones have been matched by collective glory. Williams scored the winning goal in the 2020/21 Supercopa de Espana final, netting from 20 metres early into extra time of an eventual 3-2 win over Barcelona.
Then came the Copa del Rey. Williams helped end a 40-year wait by lifting the 2024 Copa del Rey at La Cartuja. For a club as historic and proud as Athletic Club, that trophy meant everything and Williams was at the heart of it.
In total, Williams has won three titles with the club: the Copa del Rey in 2023/24 and the Supercopa de Espana in both 2020/21 and 2015/16.
A One-Club Man
Manager Ernesto Valverde, the same man who handed Williams his debut back in 2014, paid tribute after Saturday's match.
"These are impressive figures that highlight what Inaki means not only to the team, but also to the club and its history. He has achieved everything through sheer determination, thanks to his unbridled fighting spirit, which always drives us on and pushes us forward."
Athletic Club will soon present Williams with a memento featuring his 500th-appearance armband, the ikurriña colours, the club crest and the date, above a stone from the old ground on an oak base laser-etched with his details. It is a fitting tribute for a man who has given the club everything.
Williams is contracted until 2028, and with Joseba Etxeberria on 514 appearances and Andoni Iraola on 510 within reach, he could yet climb further up Athletic's all-time list before he is done.
