Nigeria international, Joe Aribo has been named world football’s ‘Iron Man’ after making more appearances than any other player across the globe this season.
The Nigerian midfielder has made 71 appearances for both club and country, more than any other player in the season under review.
The 2021/22 season has been a marathon year for the Glasgow Rangers playmaker, who capped off an impressive campaign at Ibrox with a Scottish Cup winners medal, before heading out on international duty.
Aribo, who finished the season as the main striker for Rangers amid a string of injury woes, featured for Nigeria in their 2-1 win over Sierra Leone at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja for his 71sth game of the season.
The former Charlton Athletic midfielder did not feature in the Eagles’ 10-0 massacre over Sao Tome and Principe on Monday.
For Rangers, Aribo made a whopping 57 appearances this season.
Domestically, he played 40 games across the Premiership, Scottish Cup and Premier Sports Cup campaigns.
The run to the Europa League final also added a whopping 17 games to Aribo’s calendar; with the route to Seville stretching all the way back to the Champions League playoff defeat to Malmo last August.
Alongside the relentless campaign at Ibrox, he has been a mainstay of the Nigerian side, making 14 appearances in total.
He is ahead of Liverpool striker Luis Diaz, who also featured for Porto, enjoyed a run to the Champions League final and also featured at the Copa America.
Anfield teammate, Sadio Mane arrives at 67 games after his AFCON success with Senegal and Liverpool’s late runs in the cup competitions.
Domestically, both Celtic’s Callum McGregor and Rangers’ teammate Glen Kamara are tied on 62 appearances this term, ranking them as joint second for Premiership players.
Aribo could still add to his tally before he returns for pre-season.
Credit: punchng.com
