The one club man is one of the rarest breeds in football. Thomas Muller could join the list considering he just signed an extension with Bayern Munich until he’s 35 years old. While he might go on to feature on this list someday, here is a line-up of players who only ever played for one club.
Best XI of players who only featured for one club
GK: Sepp Maier (Bayern Munich)
With 700 appearances for Bayern Munich to his name, Maier makes it between the sticks ahead of the iconic Lev Yashin. The goalkeeper won four Bundesliga titles and three European cups over 20 years.
RB: Gary Neville (Manchester United)
Graduating from the club’s academy and going on to become the club captain, Neville had a career that most only dream of. With United, he won two Champions League titles and eight Premier League titles.
CB: Carles Puyol (Barcelona)
Happy birthday to Carles Puyol, who turns 44 today! 🥳🇪🇸
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) April 13, 2022
🏆 1x World Cup 🇪🇸🌍
🏆 1x EURO 🇪🇸🇪🇺
🏆 3x #UCL
🏆 6x La Liga
🏆 2x Club World Cup
🏆 2x European Super Cup
🏆 6x Spanish Super Cup
One of the GOAT centre-backs! pic.twitter.com/VfBTWP70a0
Puyol was one of the best central defenders of his generation, not because of his physical prowess but because of his tremendous presence. The Barcelona captain went on to win 18 titles before retiring in 2014 as a true one club man.
CB: Tony Adams (Arsenal)
Adams is widely referred to as Mr Arsenal, for captaining the club in three different decades. Over 19 years at the club, he won the league title in 1989, 1991, 1998 and 2002.
CB: Franco Baresi (Milan)
Franco Baresi played for AC Milan for 20 years, and wore the captain’s armband for 15 of them. When he retired in 1997 after making 719 first team appearances, Milan retired his number 6 jersey.
LB: Paolo Maldini (Milan)
AC Milan won Serie A in 1993/94 scoring just 36 goals in 34 games. Thanks to Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini in defence they conceded just 15 goals.
— Football Remind (@FootballRemind) May 4, 2022
They won the Champions League also conceding 2 goals in the process 🤝🏆 pic.twitter.com/8TH5PqCpMn
Paolo Maldini is still the gold standard when it comes to measuring the quality of defenders. He made 902 first team appearances, and had his shirt number 3 retired by the club when he hung up his boots after a legendary career.
DM: Billy McNeill (Celtic)
McNeill led his team to the European Cup in 1967, and went back to manage the club on two separate occasions. He had an incredible career with them, and remains one of their most celebrated club legends.
CM: Michael Zorc (Borussia Dortmund)
Zorc is Borussia Dortmund’s all-time Bundesliga topscorer with 131 goals to his name. He has been with the club after retiring as well, and is working as a director until the end of the ongoing season.
CM: Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
Scholes is hailed by many as one of the best passers of the game, and he is a loyal one club man as well. The legendary midfielder made 718 appearances for them, winning as many as 12 Premier League titles.
FW: Francesco Totti (AS Roma)
Despite calls from some of the top clubs in the world, Totti chose to see out his career with Roma. He scored 307 goals in 786 career appearances and spent 25 years at the club.
FW: Uwe Seeler (Hamburger SV)
Seeler joined Hamburg at 10, and retired from the first team at the age of 35 after making 583 appearances and scoring 497 goals for the German side.
