Barça's Xavi and Liverpool's Steven Gerrard enter the 500 club on the same day

Xavi's five minutes against Espanyol in Saturday's derby were not just any five minutes -- they were his 500th La Liga appearance as a Barcelona player. 

He took Andres Iniesta's place on the pitch and there are now only seven players to have played more La Liga games than him. 

Andoni Zubizarreta, who played 622 matches, leads the way, with Raul Gonzalez and Eusebio Sacristan completing the top three. 

Xavi made his Spain debut 17 years ago and is now 35 years old.

During the years inbetween, he has won seven league titles, three Champions League, two Copa del Reys, two Club World Cups and two UEFA Super Cups.

In addition, of course, he has also won the World Cup and two European Championships.

STEVEN GERRARD

Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard also made his 500th league appearance on Saturday, albeit in the Premier League. 

The 34-year-old played for Liverpool in their draw with West Brom. It will be one of his final appearances before he leaves for America in the summer. 

In England, Ryan Giggls leads the way with 632 Premier League appearances, followed by Frank Lampard (604) and David James (572).