Former Real Betis and Las Palmas srriker Ruben Castro has called time on his career, playing his final season at Malaga at the age of 42. A 24-year career spanning 11 clubs, he holds a number of records for his longevity and goalscoring.
Castro remains the top goalscorer in Real Betis history with 147, the player with the third-most goals across La Liga and Segunda (288) and the top scorer in the history of Segunda, with 195 goals. He ranks second in the all-time Segunda appearances (435), and has played more games in Segunda and Primera than anyone else, racking up a remarkable 717 games.
In total, he made 778 professional appearances, scoring 316 goals and giving 56 assists. On Friday night, he released a statement announcing his decision, as carried by Marca.
“My farewell to football. It has been difficult for me to get to this moment. What can I say? It is still difficult for me to see myself away from the ball. I am not able to get to grips with the idea that this is over. Maybe that is why it has taken me so many months to announce to you that my time as an active soccer player is coming to an end. I do it because I consider myself lucky that that boy who had fun at Club Artesano, the modest Las Palmas team where I started, has overcome all the barriers that I am not capable of even today. to imagine: playing almost 800 official matches as a striker and celebrating more than 300 goals as his own.”
He would go on to highlight his spells at Betis and Las Palmas as highlights, while also citing Pepe Mel and Jorge Molina as two inspirational figures in his career. The trio took Betis from Segunda and into Europe.
