Joao Moutinho has long been known for his durability – and yesterday, the former Wolves star achieved something quite remarkable.
The midfielder left Wolves in the summer after running down his contract at Molineux, bringing an end to five wonderful years at the club.
Wanderers bought Moutinho from AS Monaco upon achieving promotion back to the Premier League in 2018.
£5 million was spent to bring him in and fans didn’t really expect a great deal, with Moutinho already 31 years old at that point.
But he proved to be a terrific signing, with many fans of the opinion today that he is one of the greatest players ever to don the old gold shirt.
One of the most impressive things about Moutinho at Wolves was his availability. The star was constantly able to play for Wolves, just like all his previous clubs.
Yesterday, this superb trait of Moutinho’s culminated in a very special achievement…
Former Wolves maestro Joao Moutinho plays 1000th game as a professional
After leaving Wolves, Moutinho joined Braga back in his homeland.
So far this season, the veteran has clocked up 23 appearances for the club, scoring two goals and making one assist.
His latest appearance against Benfica in the Taca de Portugal was a very special thing, because it was actually his 1000th game as a professional, across a career that has spanned 20 years.
Sadly for Braga and Moutinho, Benfica ran out 3-2 winners in the game.
But it was amazing to see someone surpass such a milestone, especially someone who gave five years of such a fantastic career to Wolves.
An incredible player and professional
It is not very often that you get a footballer celebrating playing 1000 games in their professional career.
That is an absurd number of appearances made and it just shows how hard Moutinho has worked to not only keep himself fit and available, but to keep himself at the top of his game to always be picked to play.
It is an amazing feat to have amassed 1000 games as a pro having played for top clubs like Sporting CP, FC Porto, AS Monaco, Wolves and Braga, and there is no doubt he will go down as a legendary Portuguese footballer.
At Wolves, Moutinho made 212 appearances in total, and his technical ability regularly blew supporters away, and he is credited with helping to develop the game of his compatriot Ruben Neves, another of Wolves’ greatest-ever players.
Who knows how much more the 37-year-old has left in the tank, but it sure will be a sad day when he finally hangs up his boots.