Loyalty in football is hard to come by these days for two sole reasons. Firstly; players have their heads turned by better clubs, higher wages and, more often than not, the chance to play in the Champions League.
On the other hand, even the most loyal of players are discarded when they are past their best. It’s no fault of the club in such cases. They simply cannot afford to pay high wages to a second string player if they are to compete at the very top.
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However, a number of players have managed to stay at a single club for years on end – some even a couple of decades. We take a look at such players in each of Europe’s top five leagues.
Data courtesy of CIES Football Observatory based on current players’ number of consecutive years in the first team and players fielded in the respective domestic league in the 2016/17 season.
Bundesliga (Average: 8.6 years)
When Borussia Dortmund signed Roman Weidenfeller from Kaiserslautern, they got a lot more than they bargained for. Signed for free in 2002 to replace Jens Lehmann who had made the move to Premier League giants Arsenal, Weidenfeller would establish himself as their no.1 goalkeeper for many seasons to come.
He was instrumental in Dortmund winning two consecutive Bundesliga titles in 2010/11 and 2011/12, and he also took his side to the Champions League final in 2013, finishing runners-up to Bayern. However, of late, he has lost his place to the younger Roman Burki.
Alexander Meier is yet another forward who has lasted more than a decade at a single club. He still stuck with Eintracht Frankfurt in spite of their relegation in 2011 and has so far scored 136 goals for the club.
In third place is Philipp Lahm who may have been second had he not spent some time on loan at VfB Stuttgart. Having won everything there is to win with Bayern Munich, the 33-year-old shocked many with his decision to retire at the end of the 2016/17 season.
| # | PLAYER | CLUB | YEARS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roman Weidenfeller | Borussia Dortmund | 14.5 |
| 2 | Alexander Meier | Frankfurt | 12.5 |
| 3 | Philipp Lahm | Bayern Munich | 11.5 |
| 4 | Stefan Kiessling | Bayer Leverkusen | 10.5 |
| Clemens Fritz | Werder Bremen | 10.5 | |
| 6 | Benedikt Howedes | Schalke 04 | 9.5 |
| Fabian Lustenberger | Hertha Berlin | 9.5 | |
| Marcel Schafer | Wolfsburg | 9.5 | |
| 9 | Niko Bungert | Mainz | 8.5 |
| 10 | Julian Schuster | SC Freiburg | 8.5 |
Ligue 1 (Average: 7.7 years)
Although Nicolas Seube spent his youth career at Toulouse, he never made the first team. And so, in 2001, he made the move to SM Caen and has never looked back since. He has spent his entire career with Caen.
Relegation never stopped him from leaving the club and he has helped the club get promoted back to Ligue 1 four times. Four years ago he set a new record for most appearances at the club and has almost made 500 appearances in the league alone.
| # | PLAYER | CLUB | YEARS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolas Seube | Caen | 15.5 |
| 2 | Loic Perrin | St Etienne | 13.5 |
| 3 | Pantxi Sirieix | Toulouse | 12.5 |
| 4 | Geoffrey Jourdren | Montpellier | 11.5 |
| Yannick Cahuzac | Bastia | 10.5 | |
| 6 | Romain Danze | Rennes | 9.5 |
| 7 | Franck Beria | Lille | 8.5 |
| 8 | Vincent Manceau | Angers | 7.5 |
| Thibault Giresse | Guingamp | 7.5 | |
| Cedric Carrasso | Bordeaux | 7.5 |
Serie A (Average: 8.1 years)
Compared to most leagues in Europe, players moving from one rival club to another used to be pretty common in the Italian Serie A. While some were poached due to scandals such as Calciopoli in the top flight, others simply moved on to something better at the time.
However, a select few remained loyal and still carry on about their business – legends in the eyes of not just their own fans but having earned the respect of rival fans as well. And no player embodies that better than AS Roma’s Francesco Totti.
The Italian forward almost joined AC Milan when he was a youngster before his mother chased away the scouts who knocked on his door. He has remained a Roman gladiator throughout his career and is currently Europe’s longest serving player at a single club – 24 years!
His World Cup winning teammate Gianluigi Buffon is another gentleman who never left Juventus despite relegation in 2006 and he has been rewarded with five consecutive Serie A titles with the Old Lady and a possible sixth within reach.
| # | PLAYER | CLUB | YEARS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesco Totti | AS Roma | 24 |
| 2 | Gianluigi Buffon | Juventus | 15.5 |
| 3 | Daniele De Rossi | AS Roma | 15.5 |
| 4 | Sergio Pellissier | Chievo | 14.5 |
| Angelo Palombo | Sampdoria | 14.5 | |
| 6 | Francesco Magnanelli | Sassuolo | 11.5 |
| 7 | Marek Hamsik | Napoli | 9.5 |
| 8 | Stefan Radu | Lazio | 9 |
| 9 | Ignazio Abate | AC Milan | 7.5 |
| 10 | Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu | Udinese | 7 |
La Liga (Average: 8.4 years)
Ever since Xavi left Barcelona, the players have looked up to Andres Iniesta even though the captain’s armband is shared among a number of senior players. Iniesta is Barcelona through and through, having made his way up the ranks from La Masia to the senior team. By the time he retires, he may do so having won the most trophies in Europe.
Another La Liga legend is Xabi Prieto who has also spent his entire career at a single club – Real Sociedad. In spite of getting relegated with the club in 2008, he stayed with the club for the three years they tried to get back to the top flight. His high came in 2013 when they eventually qualified for the Champions League and one of the individual highlights of his career was a hat-trick against Real Madrid.
| # | PLAYER | CLUB | YEARS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andres Iniesta | Barcelona | 14.5 |
| 2 | Xabi Prieto | Real Sociedad | 13.5 |
| David Garcia | Las Palmas | 13.5 | |
| 4 | Miguel Flano | Osasuna | 12.5 |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 12.5 | |
| 6 | Sergio Ramos | Real Madrid | 11.5 |
| 7 | Marcelo | Real Madrid | 10.5 |
| Bruno Soriano | Villarreal | 10.5 | |
| 9 | Gorka Iraizoz | Athletic Bilbao | 9.5 |
| Oliveira | Malaga | 9.5 |
Premier League (Average: 8.5 years)
With a punishing league like the Premier League, it is pretty hard to have a long career in England. A grueling schedule and the lack of a winter break sees players burn out much faster than their continental counterparts – unless your name is Ryan Giggs.
Most players look for an alternate league altogether once they hit their mid-30s. John Terry leads the lot in England having spent close to 19 years but it does look like this will be his final season as Antonio Conte looks to get in new blood in a system that sees three at the back – unsuitable for Terry’s current standards.
Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott have played in the Premier League since they were teenagers and it comes as no surprise that they, too, have played more than a decade for Manchester United and Arsenal respectively. The only other player to have spent at least a decade is West Ham United captain Mark Noble.
| # | PLAYER | CLUB | YEARS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Terry | Chelsea | 18.5 |
| 2 | Wayne Rooney | Manchester United | 12.5 |
| 3 | Theo Walcott | Arsenal | 11 |
| 4 | Michael Carrick | Manchester United | 10.5 |
| 5 | Mark Noble | West Ham | 10 |
| 6 | Leighton Baines | Everton | 9.5 |
| Phil Jagielka | Everton | 9.5 | |
| Andy King | Leicester City | 9.5 | |
| Lucas Leiva | Liverpool | 9.5 | |
| Ryan Shawcross | Stoke City | 9.5 |
