With the increasing commercialization of football, some people would say that the old charm of the game is rapidly decreasing. Young upcoming players have a lot of potential when it comes to playing the sport but more often than not, the money becomes the sole factor where their loyalties lie. Case in point Raheem Sterling who was willing to take on the wrath of a global Liverpool fanbase to acquire more exposure and change his club for monetary purposes. In times like these, loyalty to one particular club is rare and refreshing.
The standard of the game is fast rising as more and more young players are eager to make a name for themselves and, as such, competition is fast rising. In cases like these, one cannot blame a player for prioritising exposure over loyalty. Breaking the trend, however, here are five players who have stuck by their clubs through it all.
#5 Lucas Leiva
The Brazillian has been with Liverpool for quite some time now. Formerly a player at Gremio in the Brazillian League, he won the Golden Ball that is awarded to the best player of the league. Players like Zico, Falcao, Robinho and Kaka have previously been the recipients of the Golden Ball.
After turning down offers from various other top clubs, Lucas Leiva joined Liverpool in the 2007-08 season. Despite being unveiled in July, he started his first match for Liverpool in November and took his time easing into the league.
Once he started, there was absolutely no stopping him. Up until 2011, Leiva proved to be a key member of a Liverpool side that provided some stability to the squad as more and more young players were roped in. He was made the captain of one such inexperienced side in the pre-season that led up to the 2010-11 season.
After this, his Liverpool career suffered a setback from which he was unable to recover from. An ACL injury following a tackle with Juan Mata saw him out for the remainder of the season. An injury layoff in the 2014-15 season saw him out for nearly six months.
Despite all this, Lucas has registered regular starts for Liverpool and has often been the key player for the squad on numerous occasions. He has spent 8 years at Liverpool.
#4 Mark Noble
Despite being a part of Arsenal's youth academy initially, he later shifted to West Ham within a year due to the convenience of distance from his home. After scouts from West Ham showed an interest in an 11-year-old Noble.
He made his League debut in 2005 in a Championship game against Wolverhampton Wanderers FC which saw the Hammers suffer a spectacular 4-2 away defeat. This same year he won the Young Hammer of the Year which was followed by a runners-up position for the same award in the next season. After spending 2004-2006 at West Ham, Noble was loaned out to Hull City (where he made only five appearances) and Ipswich Town. It was at Ipswich that he scored his first professional goal in August 2006.
His return to West Ham saw him subsequently score his first goal for them in January 2007 in the third round of the FA Cup. So committed was he to his club that he played a major portion of the first half of the next season with an injury without notifying the team's medical staff. This ultimately turned out to be a foolish gamble as it caused him to lose his place in the squad for several weeks during the month of November in the 2007 season.
In 2015, the club honoured his long commitment to them by awarding him a testimonial match. The game was played on March 28, 2016, between West Ham All-stars and West Ham XI with all proceeds going to charity. Predictably, West Ham XI won the game in what was the last testimonial match at Boleyn Ground Stadium.
Leaving out the season he spent out on loan, Mark Noble has been at West Ham for 11 years.
#3 Wayne Rooney
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.
#2 Julian Speroni
He started his career in the Scottish Premier League with the Club Dundee before signing for Crystal Palace. Speroni also holds dual citizenship and is eligible to play for both Italy and Argentina. He does not figure much in the national side of Argentina after having represented the country only in the U20 squad.
In 2004, Speroni had a terrible start in what was his first season at Selhurst Park. In the newly promoted Crystal Palace team, he made only six starts for Palace that season and failed to impress.
During his first three seasons, he played second place to another popular figure at Palace, Gabor Kiraly.
The 2007-08 season was probably the turning point for Speroni. After getting his place back in the team, he quickly proved himself and regained his reputation and went on to win the Player of the Year for Palace for the first time. Since then, he has won it three more times to notch up a tally of five awards.
Needless to say, this has earned him a massive cult following among the Palace fanbase.
He played his testimonial match against Dundee in 2015. In his 12 years at Palace, he has 359 appearances for the club breaking John Jackson's record as the goalkeeper with the most appearances for Palace. He was inducted into the Dundee Hall of Fame in 2015 before his testimonial match.
#1 John Terry
Perhaps one of the most controversy-ridden players both on and off the field, no one can deny that the Chelsea and ex-England captain is a natural born leader when it comes to careful strategic planning to lead his respective team to victory.
Terry was initially a part of the youth structure of West Ham and made his Chelsea debut in a League Cup match in 1998 as a late substitute. He recorded his first start for the side later that season in an FA Cup third round match Oldham Athletic.
He spent one season away from Chelsea in 2000 when he was sent out on loan to Nottingham Forest in an effort to build first team experience. Once he returned to Stamford Bridge, there was absolutely no turning back.
In the 200-2001 season, following his return from Nottingham, he made 23 starts for Chelsea and was voted the player of the year. He captained Chelsea for the first time in 2001 and later that season, he was forced to sit out following a viral infection.
In 2006, in a match against Reading, Terry had the unusual experience of goalkeeping for his team after both Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini were injured and Chelsea had no remaining substitutes. He wore the Number 40 shirt during his short stint in the final minutes of the match. Even though he managed to keep a clean sheet, it might be prudent to mention that he did not need to make a single save during the entirety of this duration.
A back surgery, a concussion, an ankle injury and three broken foot bones in 2007 did not prevent him from regularly featuring the line-up that season. In 2008, he was awarded the Defender of the Year by the UEFA.
He has won seven trophies as Chelsea captain in his 17 years playing for the club.
