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AS Roma’s Francesco Totti is currently Europe’s longest-serving one-club playerIn today’s world of highly competitive football, one-club players are hard to find. Maintaining a high level of quality for years, even decades, becomes tougher after the age of 30 and most clubs are not willing to retain players who show signs of aging.But there are certain players who have kept the young ones waiting in the wings as they continue to consistently do enough to impress and extend their contracts. There are also others who have been at their respective clubs from the very first day as a footballer and are yet to lose their sheen to even be considered being put on the list of players to be sold.And some clubs simply value loyalty over performances and reward such players for who play for the shirt rather than the paycheck. We look at which league has the least and most number of one-club men currently plying their trade in Europe’s top five leagues.Data taken from CIES Football Observatory. Only players over the age of 27 have been included.
#5 Premier League - 2 players
There are no prizes for guessing why the Premier League falls behind when it comes to retaining players who are in their 30s. A physical, cut-throat league where even the slightest slip-up is punished, clubs simply cannot afford to have players who are more of a liability to the team.
A punishing schedule and the relentless hustle and bustle over a season simply breaks players who are not cut of the same cloth such as Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs. The Welsh winger spent 24 seasons at Old Trafford before retiring at the age of 40 – a jaw-dropping achievement that even had rival players shaking their heads and applauding his longevity in the English game.
Currently, there are only two players who have spent their entire careers at one club – Tonny Hibbert (Everton) and Andy King (Leicester City). While King is only 27 and still has a long way to go, 35-year-old Hibbert has been at Everton since the age of 10, joining the youth system in 1991.
John Terry would have made the list had he not gone on loan at Nottingham Forest, but he is currently the longest serving player at any Premier League club.
| # | PLAYER | CLUB | SEASONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Hibbert | Everton | 15 |
| 2 | Andy King | Leicester City | 9 |
#4 Serie A - 3 players
While Giggs played 24 seasons, yet another Italian legend is currently in his 24th season in the Italian Serie A. AS Roma’s legendary captain, Francesco Totti. Having joined the Roma youth system in 1989, he was promoted to the senior team as a teenager in 1992 and has not looked back since.
So good was Totti that he was handed the captain’s armband when he was only 22, making him the youngest captain in Serie A history. Now, 39 years old, he also owns the record for the oldest goalscorer in the Champions League among other remarkable achievements.
Italy is known for having players even beyond the age of 35 still playing first team football and Gianpaolo Bellini is another example. The left-back began his career with Atalanta in 1997 as a youth player and made it to the senior team in 1998. Now 35, he has racked up more than 400 league games for the club and still manages to get a game now and then, even playing as a right-back when the situation demands it.
Daniele De Rossi is another Italian hero who continues to play for AS Roma. After being promoted to the senior team after a year with the youth squad, the midfielder has made more than 500 appearances for the capital club and scored 54 goals. Both he and Totti won the World Cup together in 2006 and they have stuck with the club through thick and thin in spite of very little success when it comes to winning trophies.
| # | PLAYER | CLUB | SEASONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesco Totti | AS Roma | 24 |
| 2 | Gianpaolo Bellini | Atalanta | 18 |
| 3 | Daniele De Rossi | AS Roma | 15 |
#3 Bundesliga - 4 players
The German Bundesliga is far less strenuous compared to the other European leagues. It consists of only 18 teams and has a month-long winter break between December and March to rest tired legs. Nevertheless, there aren’t many over-the-hill players in the Bundesliga who make this list. Instead, it’s some youngsters who have been playing for their clubs since teenagers that come up.
Benedikt Howedes was one of three players who played every minute of Germany’s 2014 World Cup triumph. The defender has been at Schalke since 2001 and was promoted to the senior team in 2007. His long-term commitment to the Gelsenkirchen club also saw him rewarded with the captain’s armband in 2011.
Both Werder Bremen midfielder Philipp Bargfrede and Borussia Dortmund left-back Marcel Schmelzer have been at their respective clubs for eight seasons now, both having been promoted to the senior teams in 2007.
Holger Badstuber, who can play both as a centre-back and left-back has spent much of his youth career and entire senior career at Bayern Munich. He started his career in the senior team with a lot of promise, helping the Bavarian giants win a domestic double in 2010.
But he has had some bad luck with injuries (he missed the entire 2013/14 season with a cruciate ligament injury) and a tumultuous relationship with former manager Louis van Gaal. A number of injuries have seen his game time restricted. To put things in perspective, he played 50 games in 2011/12 and has played only 43 games ever since.
| # | PLAYER | CLUB | SEASONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benedikt Howedes | Schalke 04 | 9 |
| 2 | Philipp Bargfrede | Werder Bremen | 8 |
| Marcel Schmelzer | Borussia Dortmund | 8 | |
| 4 | Holger Badstuber | Bayern Munich | 7 |
#2 Ligue 1 - 6 players
The French Ligue 1 is probably the least followed among the top five leagues in Europe. More so in recent seasons because of the dominance of cash-rich Paris Saint-Germain. There was a period after Lyon’s domination of the league ended in 2008 where five different clubs won it every season (Bordeaux, Marseille, Lille, Montpellier and PSG).
But with Qatari owners bankrolling the capital club, the competition as pretty much ceased to who will finish second. Indeed, this season sees PSG hold a 23-point lead and they could wrap up the title in the next couple of games.
Ligue 1’s current longest-serving one-club man is Saint-Etienne’s Loic Perrin. The 30-year-old can play as a centre-back or defensive midfielder and has been at the historic club since the age of 12 and is currently in his 13th season in the senior team.
Yannick Cahuzac is another player in his 30s who has played at the same club (Bastia) since he was a teenager. Both Geoffrey Jourdren and Romain Danze are the only other players who have played at least 10 seasons at the same club.
| # | PLAYER | CLUB | SEASONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Loic Perrin | Saint-Etienne | 13 |
| 2 | Yannick Cahuzac | Bastia | 11 |
| 3 | Geoffrey Jourdren | Montpellier | 10 |
| Romain Danze | Rennes | 10 | |
| 5 | Jamel Saihi | Montpellier | 9 |
| 6 | Maxime Gonalons | Lyon | 7 |
#1 La Liga - 14 players
Spain have the most number of one-club players currently playing in Europe’s top five leagues with as many as 14 players from six different clubs. And at the very top of this esteemed list is Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta. Having joined the club as a 12-year-old, Iniesta broke into the first team in 2002 and has since made more than 630 appearances, and is among the top 10 players who have won the most trophies in club football.
Another player who has played 14 seasons at the same club is Athletic Bilbao defender Carlos Gurpegui. The club is known to recruit players only from the Basque region of Spain and their players usually remain fiercely loyal to the club. 35-year-old Gurpegui has seen limited playing time this season but has clocked close to 400 games for the club in 14 years.
Real Sociedad captain Xabi Prieto is now in his 13th season at the club. The 32-year-old midfielder is well respected and has averaged more than 37 games a season in the past 10 years alone.
Barcelona stars Lionel Messi, who has at least another eight years left in him, and Sergio Busquets also make the list as do other Bilbao and Sociedad players.
| # | PLAYER | CLUB | SEASONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andres Iniesta | Barcelona | 14 |
| Carlos Gurpegui | Athletic Bilbao | 14 | |
| 3 | Xabi Prieto | Real Sociedad | 13 |
| 4 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 12 |
| 5 | Mikel Gonzalez | Real Sociedad | 11 |
| 6 | Bruno Soriano | Villarreal | 10 |
| 7 | Markel Susaeta | Athletic Bilbao | 9 |
| Alberto Lora | Sporting Gijon | 9 | |
| Carlos Martinez | Real Sociedad | 9 | |
| 10 | Sergio Busquets | Barcelona | 8 |
| 12 | Ander Iturraspe | Athletic Bilbao | 7 |
| Mikel San Jose | Athletic Bilbao | 7 | |
| 13 | Vicente Gomez | Las Palmas | 6 |
| 14 | Nacho Cases | Sporting Gijon | 5 |
