Top 5 Soccer Players Who've Played for the Most Clubs

Here's a list of the most amazing, record-breaking soccer players who've jumped from club to club throughout their careers.

They’ve defended the honor of many soccer clubs throughout their careers! Here are the top five soccer players who’ve played for the most clubs.

The top five soccer players who’ve played for the most clubs

It can be hard to grasp the idea that some soccer players have been signed by multiple clubs, but it’s completely possible. In fact, the following players have wandered through more than 20 soccer clubs!

1. Sebastian Abreu (29)

The Uruguayan soccer star has the world record due to the number of clubs he’s played for since his debut in 1994 until 2019. In his 25-year career, he played for no less than 29 clubs. That’s right! More than one per year. But that’s not all: Abreu was a player in the Uruguayan national soccer team as well.

In chronological order, the clubs he played for are:

Defensor Sporting Club (Uruguay), San Lorenzo (Argentina), Deportivo La Coruña (Spain), Gremio (Brazil), Tecos (Mexico), Club Nacional de Football (Uruguay), Cruz Azul (Mexico), América (Mexico), Dorados de Sinaloa (Mexico), Monterrey (Mexico), San Luis (Mexico), Tigres (Mexico), River Plate (Argentina), Beitar Jerusalem (Israel), Real Sociedad (Spain), Aris Thessaloniki (Greece), Botafogo (Brazil), Figueirense (Brazil), Rosario Central (Argentina), Aucas (Ecuador), Sol de América (Paraguay), Santa Tecla (El Salvador), Bangu (Brazil), Central Español (Uruguay), Deportes Puerto Montt (Chile), Audax Italiano (Chile), Deportes Magallanes (Chile), Rio Branco (Brazil), and Boston River (Uruguay). In some of them he played on more than one occasion.

2. Soccer players: John Burridge (29)

His career lasted almost 30 years – between 169 and 1997 – and he played for no less than 29 clubs, all from Scotland or England.

The soccer clubs that Burridge played for are:

Workington, Blackpool, Aston Villa, Southern United, Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Derby County, Sheffield United, Southampton, Newcastle, Hibernian, Scarborough, Lincoln City, Dunfermline Athletic, Dumbarton, Falkirk, Manchester City, Notts County, Witton Albion, Darlington, Grimsby Town, Gateshead, Northampton Town, Queen of the South, Thurrock, and Blyth Spartans.

3. Lutz Pfannenstiel (25)

The former German player, born in 1973, has played for clubs in all the FIFA confederations, that is, clubs of all five continents. Lutz has also published a book titled The incredible adventures of the unstoppable keeper.

His career took off when he started playing for FC Bad Kotzting in Germany in 1991, and until his retirement in 2011 he played for the following clubs:

Penang (Malaysia), Wimbledon (England), Nottingham Forest (England), Orlando Pirates (South Africa), Sembawang Rangers (Singapore), TPV Tampere (Finland), FC Haka (Finland), PK Iisalmi (Finland), Wacker Burghausen (Germany), Geylang United FC (Singapore), Dunedin Technical (New Zealand), Bradford Park (England), Huddersfield Town (England), ASV Cham (Germany), Baerum SK (Norway), Calgary Mustangs (Canada), Otago United (New Zealand), KS Vllzania Shkoder (Albania), FC Bentonit Ijevan (Armenia), Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada), Atlético Aichinger (Brazil), FK Floy (Norway), Manglerud Star (Norway) and Ramblers FC (Namibia).

4. Soccer players: Steve Claridge (22)

This British player makes it to the top five soccer players who’ve played for the most clubs. His career began in 1983 and ended in 2017. After that, he became a coach and has already led four British clubs.

The 22 clubs Claridge played for are: Fareham Town, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Crystal Palace, Aldershot, Cambridge United, Luton Town, Birmingham City, Leicester City, Portsmouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Millwall, Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Gillingham, Bradford City, Walsall, Worthing, Harrow Borough, Gosport Borough, and Salisbury.

5. Julio César de León (21)

De León is a soccer player born in Honduras. His nickname is Rambo and since 2020, he’s played as a midfielder.

Since his career is ongoing, he’s likely to keep “wandering” over clubs. The Honduran player has also played for the national Honduran team.

Moreover, he spent most of his career in Honduras and Italy. Since 1996, De León has played in the following clubs: Platense (Honduras), Atlético Celaya (Mexico), Olimpia (Honduras), Deportivo Maldonado (Uruguay).

Then, while in Italy he played for the Fiorentina, Reggina, Catanzaro, Genoa, Parma, Torino, and Messina. Furthermore, he played for Shandong Luneng (China), Motagua (Honduras), Real Sociedad (Honduras), CSD Municipal (Guatemala), and Municipal Limeño (El Salvador).

Lastly, some honorable mentions below 20 clubs: Croatian player Sasa Bjelanovic (18 clubs), Argentine nationalized Peruvian player, Sergio Ibarra (17), Luca Toni, Italian (15 clubs). Marcus Bent, British (15 clubs), Darko Cordas, Croatian (14 clubs), Silvio Carrario from Argentina (14). Carlos Navarro Montoya, Colombian (14 clubs) and last but not least, Brazilian player, Rivaldo (14 clubs).