Sporting star close to breaking João Moutinho’s record... | OneFootball

Only João Moutinho surpasses Gonçalo Inácio in terms of the number of games served to Sporting at the age of 24. The central defender trained at the green and white Academy has already represented the lions on 217 occasions, and is the second on this list of games for the Alvalade Club.

The current Braga midfielder is the player who has worn the green and white striped jersey the most at the age of 24, totaling 251 games until he reached the mentioned age. In this way, he has 34 more games than the natural defender from Almada, who celebrates his birthday this Monday, August 25.

Despite having worn the armband at a tender age with an impressive record of games, the lion fans do not forget the way João Moutinho left Sporting in 2010. As explained in his profile in our Journal, the Portuguese international was accused of lack of professionalism and causing a bad atmosphere in the locker room to force his departure to Porto. In this way, the midfielder went from captain to 'Rotten Apple', as nicknamed by the then president, José Eduardo Bettencourt.

Below Moutinho and Inácio on this list are other notable names in the history of the Alvalade Club, such as Rui Patrício (191 games), Hilário (171), Miguel Veloso (159), Carlos Xavier (158), Daniel Carriço (150), Bruno Pereirinha (141), Gelson Martins (140) and Mário Jorge (137).

It is undeniable the influence of Gonçalo Inácio on Sporting. Launched into the main team by Ruben Amorim's hands in 2020, he has already scored 21 goals and 14 assists in his 217 games with the lion on his chest. His numbers contributed to the conquest of three National Championships, two League Cups, one Portuguese Cup and one Super Cup. 🏆️️️️

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.