There are only a few players who spend most of their careers at one club
CSKA Moscow goalkeeper has been at his club for more than 17 years
It is very rare these days that a player spends more than 10 years at the same club. With short-term contracts and free transfers also available, swapping between clubs has become the normal behavior. But in the following list we’ve collected still active, longest-serving football players at one-club who decided to stay at the same place for a long period.
Lionel Messi has just scored his 644th goal for FC Barcelona and broke Pele’s record of most goals scored for one club. It’s another stunning performance from Messi, who has already broken so many records. What is even more impressive is that he achieved all of them at the Catalan club where he has been playing since 2004. But the Argentine is not the only active player who has been so loyal for one club. In the next list we can find players from the top European leagues serving for more than a decade at the same place.
List of current longest-serving football players at one-club
7. Francesco Magnanelli
The Italian midfielder joined Serie A side Sassuolo back in 2005 when the team was only playing in the fourth tier. The 35-year old captain helped the team to win the Serie C1 and Serie B titles in the last 15 years. Magnanelli also holds the club’s record of the most appearances with 426, a number which he can still increase this season. Since 2015 his team has been playing in the top tier, they are currently in 6th place in the league.
6. Jessy Moulin
Jessy Moulin - 34 super héros, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The French goalkeeper of Saint Etienne also joined his club 15 years ago, in the 2005-06 season. But unlike Magnanelli he has been only a peripheral player at the club. AS Moulin has only made 37 appearances in 16 seasons. He spent three seasons on loan at three different clubs, but he always came back and stayed at his first club. Moulin was part of the team which won the 2013 French League Cup, but he didn’t play in the tournament.
5. Oier
Spanish midfielder Oier is the next in our list of the longest-serving football players at one-club. He joined Osasuna in 2005 and spent all seasons there. Except one when he was on loan at Celta. Oier started his career at Osasuna B then became the member of the first team three years later. But he only started in the absence of Cesar Azpilicueta who played at the club that time. After his successful spell at Celta Oier returned to Osasuna and stayed there ever since. Even though the club was relegated to the second tier in 2014. Now they are back in La Liga but the team is in the top candidates to be relegated again by online sportsbooks in Spain.
4. Sergio Alvarez
Another Spanish player, Sergio Alvarez has also been at his club, Celta Vigo for a long time. He joined the club in 2004 and played for the B team until 2011. Then the goalkeeper joined the first team in Segunda B, the second tier of Spanish football. He made his La Liga debut in 2012 after the team won promotion in the previous season. Since then Alvarez has made 152 appearances for the team. Including games in Celta’s Europa League campaign in the 2016-17 season. Sadly he injured his knees last season and hasn’t made any appearance since.
3. Mark Noble
Mark Noble - joshjdss, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A real legend of West Ham United, Mark Noble joined the club in the summer of 2004 and stayed there since. Except two short loan spells at Hull City and Ipswich Town in 2006. Noble’s loyalty is very rare in the Premier League where players often join big rivals of their previous clubs. He has the most appearances at the club with 509. Also 60 goals and 61 assists. He was voted twice the Hammer of the Year and also as Hammer of the Decade at the end of the 2010s.
2. Lionel Messi
He is one of the greatest football players of all time. What makes him even special that he has been playing for only one club yet. He joined FC Barcelona in 2003 and made his first team debut in the following year at the age of only 17. The rest is history, as Messi and Barca won ten La Liga, six Copas del Rey and 4 Champions League titles. Beside breaking several records like the most goals in La Liga or his recent one. Even though this summer things turned quite sour between Messi and the club, he still plays for Barcelona and keeps scoring. Online gambling sites in Spain favor Messi to be the top goalscorer of La Liga again this season.
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There is only one player who has been at the same club longer than the Argentine. The goalkeeper of CSKA Moscow, Igor Akinfeev who joined his club in 2002, almost 18 years ago. Since then he has made 641 appearances for the club with 276 clean sheets. He also holds the record of the most clean sheets in Russian football. Akinfeev won six Russian Premier League titles with the club and the UEFA Cup in the 2004-05 season. And even though he retired from the national team where he had 111 appearances he can have still a few years with the club.
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