Loyalty is a fading concept in football, with more money than ever before flooding the beautiful game.
However, not all modern footballers are motivated solely by their salary.
Research by Ticketgum, who have analysed statistics from the CIES Football Observatory, has revealed the clubs in England and Europe with the most loyal players.
Loyalty has been measured by 'the average months footballers in a club's first team have stayed', which shows varying degrees of player devotion across the continent.
Tottenham Hotspur's squad has been named the most loyal in the Premier League with players staying for an average of 49.3 months, stealing the crown from Manchester United who topped the loyalty tables after the last study in 2017.
Bernd Leno delivers warning to Arsenal forwards amid lack of goals under Mikel Arteta
Man Utd fans prepare Odion Ighalo chant as clip from Watford days re-emerges
Spurs are followed by defending Premier League champions Manchester City, where the average is 42, meaning Jose Mourinho's side lead the way in England by 7.3 months.
Burnley, Crystal Palace and Liverpool make up the rest of the top five with averages of 39.6, 38.6 and 37.8 months respectively, while the players at recently promoted Aston Villa have been branded the least loyal in the division, with squad members leaving the club after just 14.9 months on average.
London pair Arsenal and Chelsea are also near the bottom of the list, with Mikel Arteta's men staying for 21 months on average and the Blues retaining their players for 25 months.
Current bottom club Norwich City have the third least loyal players in the division with a 21.9 month average stay, while this season's surprise package Sheffield United performed slightly better with their squad members staying for an average of 26.1 months.
The data also revealed that the Premier League is the most loyal in Europe.
The average number of months played at a club in England's top flight is 31.5, which pips Germany's Bundesliga (30.8) to pole position.
In Spain, players leave their clubs after an average of 28.5 months, France's footballers depart after 22.4 months and Italy's average stay is 21.8 months which condemns Serie A to last place out of the top five European divisions.
The least loyal European country is Cyprus, with players staying at their teams on the Mediterranean island for only 14.6 months on average.
Read More
Today's top football stories on Daily Star
Smalling's dog dies in 'poison attack' Klopp compares Liverpool to meeting wife Arsenal eyeing Carlos Soler deal Utd only '3 signings away' from title
In terms of clubs in Europe, Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona lead the way with 66.8 and 60.6 months respectively.
German powerhouses Bayern Munich are also among the continent's most loyal sides with a 51.8 month average stay.
Meanwhile, Portuguese Primeira Liga outfit Gil Vicente's average stay of merely three-and-a-half months makes their players the least devoted in Europe, according to the study.
Source: Read Full Article