5 longest-serving players in La Liga right now
La Liga is known for players staying at one club for many years. Switching allegiances within the league has been a rare occurrence due to the players' fierce loyalty to their cities. It is very common to see a player from a club's youth academy stay for many years before moving on to a different team. On numerous occasions, talent from La Liga also gets poached by teams from other leagues across Europe.
Many players have spent over a decade at a single La Liga club, such as Carles Puyol, Iker Casillas and Xavi. These players have gone down in history as some of the greatest of all time for their footballing ability. But more importantly, they are renowned for their loyalty to their respective clubs as well.
This list will take a look at five players who have had the longest tenure at a single La Liga club. It should be noted that this list will only take into account a player's tenure in La Liga, and not just at the club. Also, if a player started out at a club's youth academy, their tenure will only be taken into consideration from when they made their senior debut for the club. So without further ado, here are La Liga's top 5 longest-serving players right now
#5 Iker Muniain | Athletic Bilbao (Since 30 July, 2009)
Iker Muniain was long considered one of the most promising talents in the world and has gone on to become a very good player at Athletic Bilbao.
The Spaniard came up through Bilbao's youth academy and has now made over 350 league appearances for the club. As a youngster at the club, Muniain won La Liga's 2010-11 Breakthrough Player of the Year and was shortlisted for the UEFA Golden Boy award for three consecutive years.
Muniain's speed, dribbling and technical ability on the ball has made him one of La Liga's premier wingers. The Spaniard is also proficient at set-pieces and has been one of Bilbao's talismans for many years. Still only 28, Muniain has a long career ahead of him, and his loyalty to Athletic Bilbao is sure to make him go down as one of the club's biggest legends.
#4 Karim Benzema | Real Madrid (Since 1 July, 2009)
Karim Benzema was one of Europe's hottest properties when he joined Real Madrid from Lyon back in 2009. Still only 22 at the time, the Frenchman was already being touted to become one of the world's best strikers. Over the years, Benzema has gone on to prove everyone right since then.
Benzema is now one of the greatest strikers of all time and has won multiple club and individual accolades with Real Madrid. The Frenchman has led the line for Real Madrid with aplomb and is currently ninth in all-time appearances for the club with 562 appearances. He is also their 5th highest scorer with 281 goals.
Now at 33 years of age, Benzema is one of the elder statesmen at Real Madrid, but is still managing to put in stellar performances every week. The Frenchman started off the 2021-22 season with a bang, having already bagged two goals and three assists in the opening three games of the season. Real Madrid will be relying on Benzema to help them regain their La Liga crown this season.