Some of football's most celebrated players stayed loyal to a single club for their entire career.

The Premier League's most-decorated player, Ryan Giggs, is one, so too AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini, Roma's Francesco Totti and Arsenal defender Tony Adams.

Perhaps some current players such as Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden might join them too.

But there are players at the other end of the spectrum, those who can look back on a lengthy list of employers, and sometimes while their career is still in its infancy.

The most famous current example is Jhon Duran, the former Aston Villa striker joining the seventh club of his career at the age of just 22 last week.

He joins others who were in danger of acquiring the journeyman tag before their 23rd birthday. These are some of those players.

Freddy Adu - eight different clubs

Dubbed "the next Pele" by some, Freddy Adu was signed by Nike at 13, played Major League Soccer for D.C. United at 14 and made his debut for the United States at 16.

Between 2004 and 2011, he signed for eight different clubs, playing in the US, Portugal, Monaco, Greece and Turkey - and even completed a trial at Manchester United in 2006 - all by the age of 22.

In 2012, Adu spoke of how signing for Benfica in 2007 was "not a good decision".

"As an 18-year-old, there was too much pressure to win right away and I went through three coaches in one year."

Adu, now 37, last played in 2021 for Osterlen FF in Sweden.

Matej Delac - eight different clubs

In 2010, Croatian goalkeeper Matej Delac signed for Chelsea from Inter Zapresic.

Despite spending eight years at the club, most of his time was spent on loan. By the age of 22, he'd played for eight different clubs - without making a single competitive first-team appearance for the Blues.

Delac, now 33, currently plays for AC Horsens in Denmark.

Nathaniel Chalobah - seven different clubs

In 2017, Watford signed 22-year-old Nathaniel Chalobah from Chelsea on a five-year deal.

Although it was the midfielder's first permanent transfer of his career, he had already completed six loan spells (including one with the Hornets in 2012), meaning he had played for a total of seven different clubs by the age of 22.

Chalobah made an impressive start to life at Watford, earning a call-up to the senior England squad for the final round of 2018 World Cup qualifiers. In October 2018, he won his only cap, coming on as a substitute in a 3-2 Uefa Nations League victory over Spain.

Now 31, he's currently without a club having left Sheffield Wednesday following the 2025–26 season.

Josh McEachran - seven different clubs

Josh McEachran was regarded as one of Chelsea's brightest prospects after breaking into the first team as a 17-year-old in 2010, going on to make 22 senior appearances for the club.

He spent the 2014–15 season loaned to Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem after previous loan spells with Swansea, Middlesbrough, Watford and Wigan.

At the age of 22, he signed for Brentford for an undisclosed fee - the seventh club of his career.

At the time of the move, the midfielder spoke about it being time for him "to get out" of Chelsea and how the transfer would give him "stability".

McEachran, 33, spent last season with Bristol Rovers in League Two.

Ryan Bertrand - six different clubs

Ryan Bertrand began his professional career at Chelsea and, by the age of 22, had played for six clubs following multiple loan moves

These included two spells each at Bournemouth and Norwich City respectively, as well as loan stints with Oldham Athletic, Reading and Nottingham Forest.

The former England international was loaned out a total of nine separate occasions while at Chelsea before signing permanently for Southampton in 2015, aged 25.

At Chelsea, the left-back made his European debut in the Blues' victory over Bayern Munich in the 2012 final.

Bertrand has been out of the game since leaving Leicester City in 2023.

Alen Halilovic - six different clubs

After beginning his professional career with Dinamo Zagreb at the age of 16, highly rated Croatian midfielder Alen Halilovic earned a permanent move to Barcelona, where he spent two years before joining Hamburg for a further two seasons.

During his time at the Nou Camp, he played primarily for Barcelona B before spending the 2015–16 season on loan at Sporting Gijon.

After joining Hamburg in 2016, he was loaned out to La Liga side Las Palmas during the 2017–18 campaign.

In 2018, shortly after his 22nd birthday, he signed for AC Milan, the sixth club of his career - while Italy became the fourth different country in which he had played.

The midfielder later had spells with Birmingham City and Reading. He now plays for Fortuna Sittard in the Netherlands.

Ravel Morrison - six different clubs

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once claimed, external that 14-year-old Ravel Morrison was the most talented youngster he had seen at the club since Paul Scholes. However, Morrison's career was hindered by legal issues and disciplinary problems.

He left United, signing for West Ham United in 2012, where he went on to have loan spells with Birmingham City, Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff City.

Before his 23rd birthday, he'd signed for Lazio in Italy - his sixth club in five years.

Reflecting on his career in 2021, the midfielder described West Ham as one of the most "enjoyable" places he played.

However, reports of a disagreement over a contract with then-manager Sam Allardyce brought his time with the Hammers to an end.

The 33-year-old now plays for Arabian Falcons F.C. in the UAE Second Division.

Nicolas Anelka - four different clubs

By the age of 22, Nicolas Anelka had won the Double with Arsenal in 1998 and the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2000.

He began his career with Paris St-Germain but left in 1997, saying he was not playing enough and that a lack of first-team opportunities was harming his international prospects.

While at Arsenal, Anelka claimed he was unhappy with the English media, whom he accused of inventing stories about him.

He moved to Real Madrid in 1999 but struggled to settle in Spain and re-signed for PSG in 2000. He returned to the Premier League in 2001, signing on loan for Liverpool aged 22.

In total, the Frenchman played for 12 clubs across seven different countries during his career. (BBC)

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