Manchester United duo David de Gea and Cristiano Ronaldo were both honoured by the club ahead of Sunday afternoon's Premier League clash with Newcastle United at Old Trafford.
De Gea, who joined United from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid 11 years ago, was presented with an engraved plate from Sir Alex Ferguson after being handed his 500th appearance for the club, continuing his run of having started every game in all competitions for the Reds so far this season. The Spaniard has joined an exclusive list of players to have played 500 games or more for United.
Participating in a joint-presentation, De Gea, who has won seven trophies in his Reds career so far, was joined by Ronaldo, who was also honoured after scoring the 700th goal of his club career against Everton last weekend. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner stepped off the bench to score the winner, helping Erik ten Hag's side seal a 2-1 win at Goodison Park.
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His goal against the Toffees marked his first in the Premier League this season, meaning he will be determined to add to his tally, starting this afternoon against Newcastle. Ronaldo made his second United debut against the Magpies in September last year and scored twice, inspiring them to a 4-1 win.
According to FIFA records, Austrian-Czech striker Josef Bican, who retired all the way back in 1957, is the only man to have scored more club goals than the United star. Ronaldo, to date, has scored 144 times for United.
Ahead of the official presentation taking place, De Gea was pictured posing for photographs in a small presentation with United great Alex Stepney, who is the only other goalkeeper in the Reds' history to have played 500 games or more for the club. Stepney, who recently turned 80, made 539 appearances for the club, meaning there is a very strong likelihood that De Gea will surpass that tally in the coming months.
As well as posing with De Gea for a few photographs, Stepney was also joined by other members of the Reds' goalkeeping union, including Martin Dubravka, Tom Heaton and Nathan Bishop. Stepney won five trophies during his United career, including one European Cup.
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