20 Long-Serving 1-Club Footballers in the Game Right Now
It seems that the one-club footballer is now very much a thing of the past in the modern game, with long-serving former stars such as Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs and AC Milan’s Paolo Maldini very much conspicuous by their absence in the game today.
However, they are not completely extinct though, as these 20 loyal servants demonstrate...
*All stats are taken from Transfermarkt
Andrew Considine (Aberdeen)
1 of 21
Age: 27
Position: Centre-back
Aberdeen central defender Andrew Considine joined the Scottish Premier League outfit in the summer of 2003, although the 27-year-old had to wait until May the next year to be handed his first-team debut in a 2-1 loss to Dundee.
But despite making just one more start in the top flight in the whole of the following campaign, the one-time Scotland under-20 and under-21 international found himself an automatic pick at the heart of the club’s back four by the time of the 2006-07 season.
And even though the defender broke his leg against Dundee in December 2012, Considine made a full recovery to take up his usual place in the Dons’ back line for the next season, where he has been ever since, chalking up well over 200 appearances in the process.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2 of 21
Age: 27
Position: Forward
The four-time FIFA Ballon d’Or winner first moved to FC Barcelona from Argentina back in 2000, with the playmaker immediately being enrolled in the club’s famed La Masia academy.
But after impressing Barca’s youth coaches with his vast array of attacking skills and working his way up through the Catalans’ C and B sides, the Argentine was handed his first-team debut by then-manager Frank Rijkaard in a La Liga contest against city rivals Espanyol in October 2004 when aged just 17.
And even though The Atomic Flea may have made just six more appearances that season, from the following campaign onwards the little magician has been a regular in Barcelona’s starting line-up, injuries permitting that is.
In fact, incredible as it may sound, the 27-year-old is now one of the longest-serving one-club footballers in the world, with Messi currently playing his 11th campaign for the Spanish giants with a scarcely believable 435 matches under his belt in all competitions in that time.
Loic Perrin (St Etienne)
3 of 21
Age: 29
Position: Centre-back
St Etienne central defender Loic Perrin has been turning out for the Ligue 1 outfit since the 2003-04 season now, during which time the player has appeared in more than 250 matches for the club in all competitions.
And with the former France under-19 and under-21 international still in Les Verts’ starting XI in this current campaign, the centre-back-cum-defensive midfielder is one of the longest-playing one-club men on Planet Football at present.
Xabi Prieto (Real Sociedad)
4 of 21
Age: 31
Position: Midfielder
San Sebastian-born attacking midfield Xabi Prieto has been representing hometown-club Real Sociedad since the 2003-04 campaign, with the Basque making his debut for their first team in October of that campaign against Osasuna.
And in the intervening period stretching back more than a decade now, the 31-year-old has appeared in more than 350 games in total for the La Liga outfit, finding the back of the net on 54 occasions in the process.
Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow)
5 of 21
Age: 28
Position: Goalkeeper
Dependable CSKA Moscow keeper Igor Akinfeev has been between the posts for the Russian Premier League giants now since 2003, when the shot-stopper made his first-team bow for the club as a fresh-faced 17-year-old.
And truth be told, the Russia international custodian has not really changed much in appearance in the 11 years since, despite featuring in more than 300 matches in all competitions for his sole employers in that time, including most memorably when helping CSKA win the 2005 UEFA Cup.
Andoni Iraola (Athletic Bilbao)
6 of 21
Age: 32
Position: Right-back
Full-back Andoni Iraola has been a reliable and reassuring presence on the right-hand side of Athletic Bilbao’s back four now since first breaking into the Basque’s starting XI back in the 2003-04 season.
In fact, the one-time Spain international has pretty much been ever-present in the Liga side’s defence since. The 32-year-old also impressively managed to score at least once in every campaign he has played at the San Mames stretching back more than a decade and 467 matches in total.
Darren Fletcher (Manchester United)
7 of 21
Age: 30
Position: Midfielder
Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has been with the club for so long now that the player actually made his first-team bow in a UEFA Champions League tie in Basel at a time when the competition still featured a second-group phase back in March 2003.
And it was in the following season that the Scot first became a regular in the Red Devils’ starting line-up, although illness in the form of ulcerative colitis has subsequently curtailed the number of appearances the 30-year-old has made at Old Trafford.
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)
8 of 21
Age: 30
Position: Midfielder
Bastian Schweinsteiger has been with Bayern Munich for so long now that the player actually made his debut while veteran Ottmar Hitzfeld was still their head coach, coming on as a substitute against Lens in a UEFA Champions League contest back in November 2002.
But despite first enrolling in the Bundesliga giants’ youth setup as far back as the summer of 1998, the blond-haired midfielder still only recently turned 30, meaning there is plenty of time yet to add further to his already hefty haul of 322 league appearances for the Bavarians.
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
9 of 21
Age: 30
Position: Midfielder
Diminutive ball-playing midfielder Andres Iniesta first came to Barcelona’s notice as a scrawny teenager while at the club’s world-famous youth academy La Masia between 1996 and 2001.
But it was not long though before Barca’s then-coach Louis van Gaal promoted the starlet into the Catalans’ first team during the 2002-03 campaign. It took the appointment of compatriot Frank Rijkaard for the player to actually become a regular in the side some two seasons later.
And now, 12 years on from that first-ever sighting of the decorated Spain international at Camp Nou, the 30-year-old has totalled more than 500 games for the Liga giants, including approaching a whopping 350 top-flight appearances.
Tony Hibbert (Everton)
10 of 21
Age: 33
Position: Right-back
Consistent right-back Tony Hibbert has been involved with Everton ever since joining their youth team back in 1991, with the Huyton-born defender then making his first-team bow for his boyhood club 10 years later in a Premier League match against West Ham United.
And the Merseysider has managed to make at least one top-flight appearance for the Toffees in every season since, now totalling in excess of 250, with this current campaign being the player’s 15th at Goodison Park.
Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma)
11 of 21
Age: 31
Position: Midfielder
Oddly enough, brilliant midfielder Daniele De Rossi made his debut for AS Roma in a UEFA Champions League clash against Anderlecht in October 2001, a full 15 months before he was actually seen in Serie A for the very first time playing against Como.
But the bearded water carrier has not really looked back ever since and despite mountains of endless speculation linking the player with a lucrative big-money move away from the Stadio Olimpico, De Rossi has opted to remain put in the Italian capital.
And with more than 450 appearances in all competitions to his name in the 14 seasons he has been representing his hometown team, the Roman is now one of the longest-serving one-club footballers in the world.
Lloyd Doyley (Watford)
12 of 21
Age: 31
Position: Centre-back
Central defender Lloyd Doyley has been a constant presence in Watford’s back line ever since being handed his debut for the club by then-manager Gianluca Vialli in a league clash against Birmingham City back in September 2001.
In fact, it was so long ago now that the Hornets were even playing in the old First Division at that time, as opposed to the Championship. The player’s consistency at the heart of Watford’s back four was since rewarded with a first-ever call-up to the Jamaica national team in March 2013.
Olivier Deschacht (Anderlecht)
13 of 21
Age: 33
Position: Left-back
Experienced left-back Olivier Deschacht first appeared on the scene at Anderlecht when joining the Belgium giants’ youth setup back in 1997, before going on to make his first-team bow some four years later.
And the ex-Belgium international has remained in the club’s starting XI ever since, during which time the 33-year-old has made almost 450 appearances in total, including more than 300 in the Jupiler Pro League, with yet more to come before his current deal expires next summer.
Vyacheslav Malafeev (Zenit St Petersburg)
14 of 21
Age: 35
Position: Goalkeeper
Highly experienced custodian Vyacheslav Malafeev has been an intimidating presence in goal for Russian Premier League giants Zenit St Petersburg for the past 15 years now, with the shot-stopper making his bow for the club all the way back in 1999.
And while it may have taken the ex-Russia international two more years to gain a regular starting spot between the sticks at the Petrovsky Stadium, Malafeev has not relinquished the No. 1 jersey since, on his way to winning a host of domestic honours and the 2008 UEFA Cup.
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
15 of 21
Age: 33
Position: Goalkeeper
Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas first joined Los Blancos’ youth academy—La Fabrica—for the 1990-91 season, remaining there until being promoted to the club’s C and B teams in 1998.
However, it did not take the La Liga giants long to call the goalkeeper up to their first team, where initially Casillas understudied experienced German World Cup-winning No. 1 Bodo Illgner.
That is until Casillas replaced his rival in goal at the Santiago Bernabeu for the 1999-2000 campaign that climaxed with him becoming the youngest-ever keeper to appear in the UEFA Champions League final as Real beat Valencia in Paris, with St Iker keeping a clean sheet.
Now 16 seasons later, and despite some recent lows in Casillas’ trophy-laden career at the White House, the Spain international remains his club’s first-choice custodian as the 33-year-old fast approaches both 500 top-flight matches and 700 games in total for Madrid.
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
16 of 21
Age: 34
Position: Midfielder
Inspirational Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has been a fixture at Anfield ever since the player joined the club’s academy at the tender age of just nine, with the Whiston-born midfielder remaining there until being promoted to the first-team setup in 1998.
And it was in November of that year that then-Reds manager Gerard Houllier handed the all-action player his debut for his hometown team as a substitute in a Premier League encounter against Blackburn Rovers, with the rest being, as they say, history.
In fact, this current campaign is now Stevie G’s 17th as a player on Merseyside, with the ex-England international having found the back of the net in all but his first season. Gerrard also made more than 650 appearances in total for the club, including nearly 500 in the league.
Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona)
17 of 21
Age: 34
Position: Midfielder
Another in the long list of brilliant starlets to have been schooled in Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy, which Xavi Hernandez attended between 1991 and 1997, before the Catalonia-born pass-master won promotion to the club’s B team.
And at the beginning of the 1998-99 campaign, Xavi was handed his first-team debut by then-Barca head coach Louis van Gaal in the club’s Supercopa final against Real Mallorca, with the midfielder even netting against the islanders.
It was not long, however, before the Spain international made his Liga bow in the October of that season, with the 34-year-old having been an inspiring figure in the centre of the park for the Catalans ever since, amassing more than 450 top-flight appearances in the process.
Abdulla Koni (Al Sadd)
18 of 21
Age: 35
Position: Centre-back
Al Sadd central defender and captain Abdulla Koni has been both a calming influence and a commanding presence at the heart of the Qatari giants’ back four for the past 18 years now, making the 35-year-old one of the longest-serving one-club footballers in the world.
In fact, the Senegal-born centre-back has been part of the Al Saad setup for so long that he even qualified to become a naturalised Qatar international back in 1997.
Francesco Totti (AS Roma)
19 of 21
Age: 38
Position: Forward
Record-breaking AS Roma forward Francesco Totti joined his club’s youth academy way back in 1989, before the Giallorossi’s then-coach Vujadin Boskov saw enough potential in the starlet to hand him his Serie A debut at Brescia in March 1993 when aged just 16.
However, despite making only a handful of appearances for the Romans in the following campaign, by the time of the 1994-95, season the player was a first-team regular, with Il Gladiatore having not looked back since.
And with a contract at the Stadio Olimpico that runs until the summer of 2016, the former Italy international now has every chance of further adding to the 550-and-more top-flight appearances that he has so far made for his hometown team.
Rogerio Ceni (Sao Paulo)
20 of 21
Age: 41
Position: Goalkeeper
Sao Paulo’s Rogerio Ceni has been a custodian with his club for fast approaching a quarter of a century, after first joining the Brazilian giants back in 1990.
Initially, the former Brazil international simply acted as reserve goalkeeper to first-choice Zetti, learning his trade under the one-time Selecao No.1.
However, after biding his time, Ceni was then finally handed his chance in the first team after his rival moved to Santos FC in 1997, with the shot-stopper having not looked back ever since.
And with the veteran still turning out for Sao Paulo to this day after making more than 1,000 appearances for his side in all competitions during the course of the last 22 seasons, the goal-scoring keeper is easily the longest-serving one-club footballer in the game right now.
Honourable Mentions…
21 of 21
Meanwhile, completing our list of long-serving one-club footballers in the game right now are the following players: Qatar SC’s Hussain Al-Romaihi (debut: 1994), Ethnikos Achnas’ Christos Poyiatzis (1995), Vidima-Rakovski’s Georgi Stoychev (1996), Ismaily’s Mohamed Homos (1997), Al-Hilal’s Mohammad Al-Shalhoub (1998), Atalanta’s Gianpaolo Bellini (1998, pictured), Kashima Antlers’ Masashi Motoyama and Hitoshi Sogahata (1998), Beijing Guoan’s Xu Yunlong (1998), Persela Lamongan’s Choirul Huda (1999), Hibernians’ Andrew Cohen (1999), Brentford’s Kevin O'Connor (1999) and Al-Gharafa’s Hamed Shami (1999).
.jpg?w=600 "Shedeur not currently in line for Browns QB1")
