A one-club man is a sportsman who has played his entire professional career with only one club. The term is often used in the context of team sports such as football or rugby.[1][2]
Retired players
- Players must have been at their club for a minimum of ten years in order to be included here. Loan spells at other teams disqualify players from being counted in the list. Only seasons with appearances in the senior first team are counted.
Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs appeared in 963 matches over 24 seasons. Giggs is also one of only two players (alongside James Milner) to play in 22 successive Premier League seasons, and the only player to score in 21 successive Premier League seasons. Giggs won 34 trophies during his career with Manchester United.
Former AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini appeared in 647 league matches and 902 matches overall, spanning over 25 consecutive seasons. Maldini won 26 trophies with Milan, and played the second-most matches in Serie A.
Former Roma captain Francesco Totti appeared in 786 matches for Roma over 25 seasons, scoring 307 goals. He is the second-highest scorer in Serie A history.
Former Liverpool vice-captain Jamie Carragher appeared in 737 matches over 16 seasons. He achieved 11 trophies with Liverpool.
Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams appeared in 672 matches over 19 seasons. Adams won 13 major trophies over three different decades.
Club Atlético Independiente midfielder Ricardo Bochini (right) appeared in more than 630 matches over 19 seasons. He won 14 trophies with the Avellaneda club, including five Copa Libertadores.
Former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol appeared in 593 matches over 15 seasons. Puyol won 21 trophies in the club, including the sextuplet of the 2008-2009 season while captain.
Hannover 96 defender Steve Cherundolo appeared in more than 400 matches over 16 seasons.
Zenit goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev appeared in more than 400 matches over 17 seasons.
Everton defender Tony Hibbert appeared in 329 matches over 16 seasons.
Active players
CSKA Moscow captain Igor Akinfeev has appeared in over 750 matches over 21 seasons.
Athletic Bilbao captain Iker Muniain has appeared in more than 550 matches over 15 seasons.
Melbourne Victory captain Leigh Broxham has appeared in nearly 550 matches over 18 seasons.
Lewis Stevenson has played over 450 times for Hibernian since 2005.
Graham Zusi has appeared in 355 matches (as of the end of the 2023 MLS regular season) with Sporting Kansas City and remains the longest tenured player in MLS history to have played for one club.
Thomas Müller has appeared in nearly 700 matches for Bayern Munich over 16 seasons.
Koke has appeared in more than 600 matches for Atlético Madrid since 2009.
Sergi Roberto has appeared in more than 350 matches for Barcelona since 2010.
Real Madrid captain Nacho Fernández has appeared in more than 350 matches since 2011.
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Active as of 18:35, 3 July 2023 (UTC). Ordered by year started, then games played. Minimum of ten years to qualify; current players who have been at their club since 2014 will be eligible for inclusion in spring 2024.
Playing and post-playing careers
In addition to those who spent their entire playing career with a single club, there are several examples of players remaining with a single club throughout their entire career within the professional club game – playing, coaching, and management. Notable examples are listed below.
- Ilshat Aitkulov (Gazovik Orenburg): player 1990–2003; assistant 2003–2005; manager 2005; caretaker 2006, 2009, 2011.
- Michael Anhaeuser (Charleston Battery): player 1994–1998; coach 1999–2021.
- Joe Bacuzzi (Fulham): player 1935–1956; reserve team coach 1956–1965.
- Franco Baresi (AC Milan): player 1977–1997; youth team coach 2002-2008; marketing board 2008-2017; brand ambassador 2017–2020; honorary vice-president 2020–present.
- Şeref Bey (Beşiktaş): manager 1911–1925.
- Edmund Białas (Lech Poznań): player 1934–1951; manager 1956–1976 with intervals.
- Arnold Sowinski (Lens) : player 1952-1966; coach 1969-1978, 1979-1981, 1988, 1989.
- Fred Blankemeijer (Feyenoord): player 1942–1952, technical director, board member, youth coach and scout 1940–2010.
- René Domingo (Saint-Étienne): player 1949-1964, reserve team coach 1964-1968.
- Giampiero Boniperti (Juventus): player 1946–1961; board member 1962–1971; club president 1971–1990; CEO 1991–1994; club honorary president 2006–2021 (his death).
- George Bray (Burnley): player 1937–1952; coach 1952–1974; kit manager 1974–1992.[13]
- Ross Caven (Queen's Park): player 1982–2002; director 2001–present.
- Cosme Damião (Benfica): football player 1904–1916 (main squad 1907–1916); field hockey player; manager 1908–1926 (player-coach 1908–1916); director of the club's sports newspaper 1913–1931; stage director of the club's theatrical group (1916); president of the club's General Assembly 1931–1935.
- Romain Danzé (Rennes): player 2006–2019; youth-team assistant 2019; public relations and development director 2020–present.
- Giacinto Facchetti (Inter Milan): technical director, board member, worldwide ambassador, vice president, and president 2004–2006.
- Agustín Gaínza (Athletic Bilbao): player 1940–1959; reserve coach 1964–1965; head coach 1965–1968.
- Éric Sikora (Lens): player 1985-2004; coach assistant 2005-2006; youth-team coach 2006-2012; assistant coach 2012; coach 2012-2013; reserve team coach 2013-2017; coach 2017-2018; youth-team coach 2021-2022; head post-training formation 2022–present.
- Nicolas Seube (Caen): player 2001-2017; youth-team assistant 2017-2019; reserve assistant 2019-2020; youth-team coach 2020-2022; formation director 2021-present; reserve coach 2022–present.
- Louis Provelli (Valenciennes-Anzin): player 1957-1970; coach 1970.
- Boris Gavrilov (Shinnik Yaroslavl): player 1971–1989; assistant manager 1989–1992.
- John Greig (Rangers): player 1961–1978; manager 1978–1983; director 2003–2011.
- Les Hart (Bury): player 1936–1953; Coach/Physio 1954–1968; Manager 1969–1971; Physio 1972–1980.
- Eddie Hunter (Queen's Park): player 1964–1974; coach 1974–1979; manager 1979–1994.
- (Kolec Kraja) (Partizani): player 1956-1964; coach 1988-1989.
- Anatoly Ilyin (Spartak Moscow): player 1949–1962; youth coach 1962–1995.
- Aage Rou Jensen (AGF): player 1941–1962; handball player; tennis player; gymnastic and swimming at AGF; manager 1963; president 1964-1967.
- Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur): player 1999–2012; assistant first team coach 2020–2021.
- Nat Lofthouse (Bolton Wanderers): player 1939–1960; Manager 1968–1970 and also 1971; assistant trainer 1961; chief coach 1967; chief scout; Club President 1968–2011.
- Mykola Lykhovydov (Real Pharma Odesa): president since 2000; player since 2000 (professionally since 2011); manager 2000–2003, 2009–2012, 2016–2017 and 2019–2020.
- Paolo Maldini (AC Milan): player 1984–2009; sporting strategy and development director 2018–2019; technical director 2019–2023.
- Donnie McKinnon (Partick Thistle): player 1959–1973, coach/physiotherapist 1973–1989.
- Gerard Meijer (Feyenoord): physiotherapist 1959–2009.
- Jean Petit (Monaco): player 1969-1982; assistant coach 1987-1994; coach 1994; assistant coach 1994-2005; coach 2005; assistant coach 2011–present.
- Willie Miller (Aberdeen): player 1972–1990; coach 1990–1992; manager 1992–1995; director of football 2004–2012.
- Bill Nicholson (Tottenham Hotspur): player 1938–1955; manager 1958–1974.
- Kenneth Ohlsson (Hammarby IF): player 1966–1983; coach 1989–1992.
- Bob Paisley (Liverpool): player 1939–1954; coach/physiotherapist 1954–1959; assistant manager 1959–1974; manager 1974–1983.
- Carles Puyol (Barcelona): player 1999–2014; assistant director of football 2014 (resigned the same year).
- Roman Rogocz (Lechia Gdańsk): player 1947–1962; manager and youth team manager 1962–1975 with intervals.
- Hussein Saeed (Al-Talaba): player 1975–1990; manager 1992; vice-president 1985–1992.
- Ali Sami Yen (Galatasaray): player 1905–1909; manager 1916–1917; club president 1905–1918 and 1925.
- Süleyman Seba (Beşiktaş): player 1946–1953; club president 1984–2000.
- Vadym Sosnykhin (Dynamo Kyiv): player 1960–1973; youth-team coach 1974–1991; veterans team director 1992–2003.
- Steinar Pettersen (Strømsgodset IF): player 1962–1975; bandy player during 60s; coach 1979.
- Roy Sproson (Port Vale): player 1949–1972 and manager 1974–1977.
- George Stevenson (Motherwell): player 1923–1939; manager 1946–1955.
- Lajos Tichy (Budapest Honvéd): player 1953–1971; manager 1976–1982.
- Francesco Totti (A.S. Roma): player 1993-2017; technical director 2017-2019.
- Andriy Tsvik (Stal Alchevsk): player 1987–2005; reserves coach 2005–2007; assistant manager 2007–present.
- Josu Urrutia (Athletic Bilbao): player 1987–2003; club president 2011–2018.
- Johan Radet (Auxerre): player 1996-2007; third-team coach 2011-2012; reserve coach 2012-2013; youth-team coach 2013-2014; reserve coach 2014-present.
- Antoon Verlegh (NAC Breda): player 1912–1931; manager, chairman, chairman of honour 1931–1960.
- Heinz Wewers (Rot-Weiss Essen): player 1949–1962; runner of stadium pub 1957–approx.1962; manager 1967.
- John Stewart Wright (Greenock Morton): player 1911–1924; manager 1927–1929 and 1934–1939.
- Lev Yashin (Dynamo Moscow): player 1949–1971; club administration 1971–1990.
- Hakkı Yeten (Beşiktaş): player 1931–1948; manager 1949 and 1950–1951; club president 1960–1963, 1964–1966 and 1967–1968.
- Francesco Zagatti (AC Milan): player 1951-1963; youth team coach 1963-1982; club scout 1982-2002.
- Michael Zorc (Borussia Dortmund): player 1981–1998; general manager of football 1998–2022.
See also
- List of one-club men in rugby league
- List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise
- List of National Football League players who spent their entire career with one franchise
- List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise
- List of NHL players who spent their entire career with one franchise
- One Club Award (Athletic Bilbao)