Ghana Defender Alexander Djiku Sets French Ligue 1 Record

• Strasbourg defender Alexander Djiku has reached a milestone in his career as he sets a new record in the French Ligue 1 on Sunday
• The Black Stars defender was in action for his club as they defeated Lens on Sunday to keep their hope of qualifying for European football alive
• The game marked Alexander Djiku's 183rd appearance in the French Ligue 1 after he broke the record previously held by Andre Ayew

Ghana defender Alexander Djiku has become the Ghanaian with the most appearances in the French Ligue 1 on Sunday.

The Black Stars defender played a key role as Strasbourg edged Lens 1-0 to climb up to fourth place in the French top flight.

A neatly converted penalty by Ludovic Ajorque was enough to hand the all important victory for the home side at the Stade de la Meinau.

Djiku started and played the entire duration of the game for Strasbourg as they vie in the race for European spots next season.

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The game marked Djiku's 182nd appearance in the French elite division, seeing off the record which was previously held by Ghana captain Andre Ayew.

How did Djiku reach this milestone?

Alexander Djiku started his top-flight career in France with Bastia in the 2014/15 season where he managed only two appearances.

He later made 43 appearances across two seasons for Bastia before switching to Caen in 2017.

Djiku managed 59 appearances for Caen in two seasons and moved to his current club Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace in 2019.

In the three seasons, he has spent at Strasbourg, Djiku has mustered 79 appearances in the French Ligue 1.

How does Djiku's milestone matchup with other Ghanaians

Prior to Djiku's recent landmark, Andre Ayew held the fort for Ghana in the Ligue 1 achieving his 182 appearances playing for Lorient and Marseille between 2007 and 2015.

Andre's younger brother, Jordan has racked up a total of 159 appearances followed by three-time African best player and arguably the greatest ever footballer to have come from Ghana, Abedi Ayew 'Pele'.

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Majeed Waris is also on the list as Ghanaians with the most caps in the French Ligue 1 with 142 appearances.

Former Olympique Lyonnais midfield icon Michael Essien and ex-FC Metz captain John Boye all make the list with 137 and 122 appearances respectively.

Djiku Reacts to World Cup Qualification

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that France-born Ghanaian defender, Alexander Djiku is already looking forward to the World Cup in Qatar this year after his impressive display against Nigeria helped the Black Stars make a return to the global showpiece.

The Strasbourg center-back was in scintillating form in the two-legged play-off against Nigeria, keeping the star-studded attacking line of Nigeria, which included Napoli's hitman Victor Osimhen, at bay.

In a post on Twitter, Djiku expressed delight in Ghana's qualification and also thanked the fans for their immense support for the Black Stars.