The greatest one-club men in football history, ft Puyol, Scholes, Maldini & Totti | OneFootball

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Loyalty can be hard to come by in football these days. Too often, players are on the lookout for something better, or a manager has no problem moving on talent the minute they don't quite fit his plans. It's becoming increasingly rare to see someone spend their entire career with one club. That sort of loyalty just doesn't come around often anymore. Especially not from stars who would have had plenty of options if they were to look elsewhere.

Even Steven Gerrard and Xavi ended their careers away from the clubs they called home for so long. There have been some instances, though, where icons within football became legends playing for just one club and one club only throughout their time on the pitch. Let's look at an entire XI of the very best players to spend all of their playing days at just one team.

GK - Lev Yashin - Dynamo Moscow

The one goalkeeper to ever win the Ballon d'Or, there's no question that Lev Yashin makes it into this team. There have been a few goalkeepers to spend their entire careers with one team, but none were on the Russian's level. He may have spent his entire career at Dynamo Moscow, never playing outside of his homeland, but that didn't stop the world from considering him as one of the greatest players to ever stand in between the sticks.

RB - Carlos Puyol - Barcelona

While he predominantly played in the centre of defence as his career progressed, Carlos Puyol actually started off on the right and showed numerous times over the years that he was still more than capable of putting in a shift in the position. The Spaniard spent his entire career at Barcelona and won just about everything there possibly was to win during that time.

With numerous Champions League trophies and plenty of league titles, Puyol is clearly one of the most decorated defenders of all time. From joining the club's youth ranks in 1995, to retiring in 2014, the defender spent 19 years at Barcelona and made just under 600 appearances for the team. Not bad at all.

CB - Tony Adams - Arsenal

One of the greatest Premier League defenders of all time, Tony Adams spent his entire career at Arsenal and led the Gunners to some major successes over the years. In the heart of the defence, he was ever-present during Arsene Wenger's formative years at the club.

Adams was as dependable as they come and it's hard to imagine Arsenal would have experienced quite the highs that they went on to have if it wasn't for him. The Englishman played for the club between 1980-2002 and made almost 700 appearances for the club. What a captain.

CB - Jack Charlton - Leeds United

While he might not quite be as famous as his brother to more younger football fans, Jack Charlton was still an absolute force to be reckoned with during his career. The defender was a no-nonsense powerhouse and spent his entire time as a player at Elland Road where he wore the Leeds United shirt with pride.

The Englishman won the World Cup with his country in 1966 and spent 23 years with the Lilywhites. He made close to 800 appearances for Leeds and scored 95 goals. Not bad at all for a defender. With a spot in the PFA Team of the Century and the English Football Hall of Fame, we couldn't leave Charlton out.

CB - Franco Baresi - AC Milan

Regarded as one of the greatest centre-backs in the history of football, it would have been criminal to leave Franco Baresi out of this list. The Italian spent his entire career at AC Milan and played at least 25 games in the league in all but three of his 19 seasons as a first-team player at the club.

Baresi won six Serie A titles, three Champions League trophies and even finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or award at one point during his illustrious career. He remained an important figure at the San Siro until he hung his boots up in 1997 and he did so having made just over 700 appearances for Milan, cementing himself as one of the club's biggest legends.

LB - Paolo Maldini - AC Milan

From one legendary Milan defender to another, Paolo Maldini has a strong case to be made as the greatest-ever left-back. The Italian was a machine for his club and country throughout his career and never played for anyone but his beloved Red and Blacks.

Maldini won pretty much everything he could with Milan and there were few players in the world that had the impact he did for his club. The now 55-year-old spent 24 years in the club's first team, an absence amount of time and made over 900 appearances. It's an absurd amount and ensured he retired from football in 2009 with his legacy as one of Milan's greatest players ever firmly in place.

CM - Paul Scholes - Manchester United

Paul Scholes was one of the very best English midfielders of his generation during his 19-year career at Manchester United. He often went criminally underrated to the casual eye, but anyone who knew anything about football was well aware of the sheer importance he had in the Red Devils squad.

His impact was monumental, and he was a key component to the club's massive success throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Scholes made over 700 appearances for United, winning everything on offer. He almost didn't make it in this team. After retiring in 2011, he found a desire to return to football 12 months later and was willing to do so for another team if there wasn't a place for him at Old Trafford. Luckily, there was and he retired in 2013 having played for no club other than the Red Devils.

CM - Sandro Mazzola - Inter Milan

There are few Italians to have ever played football viewed in a higher regard than Sandro Mazzola. The midfielder was dazzling during his career and regularly terrorised defences for Inter Milan where he spent his entire 17-year career. The icon played just under 600 games for Inter and scored over 100 goals for the side and even now, 46 years after he hung his boots up, he's still remembered as one of the very best. Iconic.

RW - Thomas Muller - Bayern Munich*

The only player in the team still actively playing football, Thomas Muller can't be described as anything other than a Bayern Munich legend. The German international has spent his entire 15-year career at the club so far. Whether it's on the wing, where we've conveniently placed him today, or in the middle, the 34-year-old has been exceptional wherever he plays.

With just under 700 appearances for the club and over 200 goals, Muller's status as a legend in the Bundesliga has already been confirmed and considering he's still playing, his numbers should only continue to rise. Unless, God forbid, he actually leaves to play for someone else before he calls it quits.

LW - Ryan Giggs - Manchester United

There are few players in Premier League history as iconic as Ryan Giggs. The Welshman torched defences in England's top flight for two decades and he did so at United and no one else. He was ever-present in the side during Ferguson's dominating reign and retired having won everything he possibly could at club level.

Giggs played in the first 22 Premier League seasons and is looked at as one of its greatest-ever players. He made close to 1,000 appearances for the Red Devils, with well over 150 goals to his name as well. Ferguson's run at United was unprecedented and Giggs played a major role in their success.

ST - Francesco Totti - AS Roma

When you think about one-club players, Francesco Totti is one of the first names that comes to mind. His dedication to AS Roma over the years has earned the Italian the admiration of fans all over the world and for good reason. Totti was incredible during his career and likely could have scored a move to just about anyone, but remained loyal to the Serie A side and gave his all to them during his 25-year career.

The forward played close to 800 games for the club and scored over 300 goals in that time. Absolutely absurd numbers that are a shining indication of his sheer importance and impact during his time there. Totti retired in 2017 and did so having won just one Serie A title with Roma, a number that would have surely risen had he left the club during his career, but you've got to admire the loyalty he showed to remain there until he called it quits. That sort of dedication is hard to come by these days.

Here's the career stats of everyone in our XI:

*Muller's career is still ongoing