5 most loyal footballers in the Premier League

#3 Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney has matured phenomenally as a player during his time at Manchester United

The captain of Manchester United and England, Wayne Rooney perhaps holds the distinction of having played in a variety of different positions as he was that versatile. Technically a forward, his playing position has never been fixed at any club he may have played for. Being honed from a very young age by a prolific Sir Alex Ferguson, Rooney quickly found himself to be the subject of a number of experiments done to find out where he is best suited to the team.

He has won the Premier League Player of the Year five times, a feat bettered only by Steven Gerrard. Currently, he stands on 368 appearances for Manchester United over a period of 12 years.

Being only 18 when he first signed for United in 2004, his youth and vigour coupled with an unusual amount of aggression saw him become the club's top scorer that season with 11 goals. He was awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year for his efforts that season.

The younger Rooney wore his heart on his sleeve on-field when he initially arrived at Old Trafford. In 2005, he was sent off in a Champion's League game against Villareal for sarcastically clapping a referee for wrongly booking him. It seems that referees are known for being incredibly thin skinned.

He endured a 10 match goalless streak after this before coming back with a bang with a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers. In September 2011, he became the fourth player to score back to back hat-tricks in the Premier League against Arsenal and Bolton again. He is currently on 187 goals for Manchester United, joint second with Andy Cole and behind only Alan Shearer.