Top 10 one-club players

We live in an era of Baby Bentleys, getting merk'd by Jar Jar Binks and WAGs, so it's nice to know that there are players out there who value loyalty above cold cash. Ah, you say, but these players all play for big clubs, so why would they want to move? Fair point, but most of the stars in this list will have had big offers from other clubs, and yet they chose to stay, so 'nuff respect to them all.

1 Francesco Totti (AS Roma, 1993-)
Much maligned and underrated, it's easy to forget that Totti, one of the world's best creative forwards and a World Cup-winner, has stayed loyal to Roma for almost 15 years (and they are not even one of Italy's biggest clubs - I'd put them on a par with Everton and Spurs over here), despite many offers to move to bigger clubs throughout his career. Well done sir, Pies salutes your unflinching loyalty, not to mention your lovely wife.

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2 Paolo Maldini (AC Milan, 1984-)
Totti sneaks in ahead of Maldini, purely because AC Milan are one of the world's biggest clubs, unlike Totti's Roma. But Maldini is simply a phenomenon, and already recognised as perhaps the greatest defender of all time. He's now 38 and still going strong, some 23 years after he started playing for Milan. When he finally does retire, his No.3 shirt will also be retired. Quite right too. Oh, and he's also one of the nicest guys in football. Pies hearts Paolo.

3 Ryan Giggs (Man Utd 1990-)
Giggsy has now clocked up more than 700 appearances for United, and yet he could have had his pick of the Europe's greatest clubs. OK, so United are one of Europe's greatest clubs but still, you have to admire his loyalty to Old Trafford/Sir Alex Ferguson. Some fans may accuse Giggs of lacking ambition because he never moved on when he had the chance, but he's won so much in a United shirt that you can't really have a pop at him for that.

4 Raul Gonzalez (Real Madrid 1994-)
Mr Madrid, the all-time top scorer in the Champions League and for the Spanish national team, is rightly a hero in his home town. Madrid fans love their captain like a son. Now approaching 30, Raul will probably never leave Madrid, and it's easy to see him taking a coaching role when he hangs up his boots. Again, he had plenty of big-money offers, but spurned them all.

5 Paul Scholes (Man Utd 1993-)
Ah, we come to the Ginger Prince, Scholesy, the Ginger Nina. Call him what you like, Scholes is simply one of England's greatest ever creative midfielders. He ranked No.9 in Pies' 100 Greatest Premiership Players mega-list. We said about him: "The most admirable thing about Scholes is his utter professionalism. To use a cliche, he lets his football do all the talking. And what a footballer he is – in our opinion he's the best English midfielder to have played in the Premiership. His touch, vision and mid-range shooting are all world-class. If he could tackle, then he'd be even higher up this list."

6 Jamie Carragher (Liverpool 1996-)
Carragher was signed as an apprentice by Liverpool in his teens and he's still going strong at Anfield. He's been in wonderful form this season, particularly in Europe, leading to many experts claiming that he is currently England's best centre-back. It's no exaggeration to say that Carra is one of the most popular players in Liverpool's history. Most fans on The Kop do indeed dream of 'a team of Carraghers…'

7 Alessandro Costacurta (AC Milan 1985-)
In many ways, Costacurta is a poor man's Paolo Maldini. In this case, however, that is no slight; now 40, Costa has been a world-class defender in his own right for ages. He'll retire at the end of this season, and although his shirt won't be retired too, he'll still go down as one of Milan's all-time greats. Oh, and like Maldini he has a rather attractive WAG to look after him in his dotage.

8 Gary Neville (Man Utd 1992-)
Really, Neville has had no choice but to stay at Old Trafford. After all, who else would take him? Cut the Neviller and he bleeds United Red. Whether you like England's most renowned badge-kisser or not (and many non-United fans can't stand him), you have to admire his professionalism, longevity and amazing levels of performance. How often does he have a shockingly bad game? … Exactly.

9 Xavi (Barcelona 1998-)
Barca's vice-captain joined the club when he was just 11, and he's still there some 17 years later, despite several lucrative offers from other big clubs in Europe. Xavi  is contracted to Barca until 2010, with a buyout clause of £100 million. That shows you just how much he is valued at the Nou Camp.

10 Guti (Real Madrid 1995-)
An underrated playmaker, Guti has been in and out of Madrid's starting XI more times than Emile Heskey's tripped over his boot laces. Despite that, he has not looked to move to a lower-profile club, where he would be guaranteed of regular first-team football.

Any other one-club stars you'd like to nominate? Fill your boots…