5 longest-serving players in Serie A right now
Serie A is known to be home to some of the most loyal players of all time. Italy's top flight has been graced by the likes of Paolo Maldini and Francesco Totti, who stayed with their respective clubs throughout their illustrious careers.
These players have been lauded for their loyalty to a single club, and have gone down as legends of the sport. In this day and age, though, it is difficult to find players who stays with one club for their entire career, but this has been a fairly common occurrence in the Serie A.
There are many long-serving Serie A players at a single club at the moment. Of course, the duration of loan stints at other clubs is deducted from the player's total duration at his parent club. On that note, here's a look at the top five:
#5 Andrea Ranocchia (Inter Milan) - Since December 2010
Despite joining Inter Milan back in 2010, Andrea Ranocchia has been sent out on a bunch of loan spells, which sees him lower on this list. The Italian was once touted as a generational talent, and was seen as Italy's next great defender.
Inter Milan snapped up Ranocchia at the age of 21, and the defender blossomed into a fine centre-back at the time. Tall, strong and tactically astute, Ranocchia had all the qualities to become a world-class defender. But it was not to be, as injuries and loss of form saw the Italian fall down the pecking order at the club, and he was subsequently sent out on loans.
Ranocchia, who has spent spells on loan at Genoa, Sampdoria and Hull City, has seen minimal playing time at Inter Milan in recent years.
The Italian did not make a single appearance for the club during the 2020-21 season, when they won the Serie A title, but is now a key veteran presence in the locker room.
#4 Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) - Since January 2010
Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne started in the club's youth academy and has gone on to become one of the best players in the game now. The winger had a few loan spells early on in his career, but has starred for both club and country over the years, winning two Coppa Italias and the 2020 European Championship.
The Italian largely operates on the left wing, but his versatility allows him to play up front or behind the main striker as well. Insigne's speed, dribbling and shooting ability has made him a menace in the Serie A for over a decade, and at only 30, he still has a few years at the top.
Insigne has shown great loyalty to Napoli over the years, despite multiple clubs being interested in him. So he is sure to go down as one of the Serie A club's biggest legends.