Gayà, a precocious legend

José Luis Gayà (Pedreguer, 1995) reached 250 official matches for Valencia in the match against Getafe. Neither the figure nor the date is badalí. Only 45 players in Valencia's 101-year history They have defended their shirt so many times and only two players reached 250 games younger than Gayà: Miguel Tendillo Y Fernando Gomez.

Gayà, who except for a setback and before the end of the course will surpass in the ranking of players with the most club matches Fabian Ayala (253) Y Epi (256), turned his match 250 at 25 years, 9 months and 3 days, that is, with 9,411 days of life. Tendillo played it at 24 years, 10 months and 14 days (9,083 days) and Fernando, at 24 years, 11 months and 21 days (9,123).

Gayà, what debuted with Valencia nine years ago (October 30, 2012 against Llagostera in the Copa del Rey), could well have shattered the records of Tendillo and Fernando had it not been for the injuries that have accompanied him for several years of his career and that have made him lose 54 games.

Gayà, since he became fixed in the first team (summer 2014, as a result of the sale of Juan Bernat, a transfer that to some extent was executed because there was a natural replacement with Gayà), since then he has played 250 of the 328 official matches of Valencia, that is, 76%. Beyond those mentioned due to injury, only 9 have been lost due to suspension, in 15 he stayed on the bench and in 11 he was not called up (most in the first rounds of the Cup or Europa League).

Pedreguer's side is the 21st Valencian footballer with the most appearances for Valencia and its renewal will tell the place it finally occupies in che history. Gayà, with a contract until 2023 and with the club with the intention of extending years, clause and salary, it finds precisely in the trajectory of Miguel Tendillo and Fernando Gómez two different paths.

The central defender, a few months after reaching 250 games, in the year of relegation to the Second Division, went to Real Murcia and then to Real Madrid, leaving his final number of games with the Che entity at 274. Fernando, on the contrary , stayed for 15 seasons at Valencia and became the player who has worn his shirt the most times (556).

That is one of the personal challenges that Gayà has had for years, fight to get over FernandoAlthough at 25 he also has to stop and think about what project Meriton Holdings is presenting him. And in it he is. Within the club they are aware that the continuity of Gayà would be an endorsement of a management that, in the most benevolent cases, generates uncertainty among its social mass. At the moment Gayà continues to fulfill matches and seasons. There are already 250, a figure that Ricardo Arias (521 games in total) did not reach until he was 27 years, 7 months and 11 days old and David Albelda (488) until he was 28 years, 2 months and 4 days old. As a curiosity, the oldest footballer at the time of reaching 250 games with Valencia was Amedeo Carboni (38 years and 13 days).

AGE RANKING WHEN REACHING 250 GAMES WITH VALENCIA

Miguel Tendillo: 24 years, 10 months and 23 days

Fernando Gomez: 24 years, 11 months and 21 days

José Luis Gayà: 25 years, 9 months and 2 days

Gaizka Mendieta: 26 years, 5 months, and 4 days

Juan Sol: 26 years, 5 months, and 4 days

Vicente Rodríguez: 26 years, 5 months, and 24 days

Miguel Angel Angulo: 26 years, 6 months, and 13 days

Pep Claramunt: 26 years, 7 months, and 18 days

Carlos Arroyo: 26 years, 7 months, and 21 days

Quique Sánchez Flores: 26 years, 11 months, and 26 days