As Phil Thompson put it on Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Steven Gerrard is among "the last of the local lads" at Liverpool.
But the long-time club captain and one-club man (until this summer) is in a long line of players who have come through and defined themselves at a club, only to spend their final seasons elsewhere.
In the cases of Manchester United's Bobby Charlton and Brazil and Santos legend Pele, both men had retired from competitive football when they made brief comebacks with Preston North End and New York Cosmos respectively.
But for others, the story is quite different, leaving their long-time clubs for a variety of reasons...
Bobby Moore ©INPHO/Allsport
Bobby Moore (West Ham)
Moore needs little introduction. The image of the late defender holding the World Cup trophy aloft in 1966 still resonates to this day for England fans who have not seen their country win anything major since.
While he never won the league, Moore's long association with West Ham from 1956 to 1974 stands out.
Oddly enough though, despite his fame and achievements, Moore's legacy is perhaps not what it should be at the Hammers.
Allowed to leave West Ham in 1974, he signed for Fulham and would later play in the North American Soccer League.
But it was something former West Ham and player and manager Harry Reknapp said not so long ago in his book, which provides some level of disquiet:
"What disappointed me after Bobby died - yes, they named a stand after him and built statues - but when he was alive nobody ever really showed a lot of interest in him. I just found it absolutely amazing. I saw him get thrown out of the stands at West Ham.
"...A steward came up to him - a nice guy, not his fault - and said, "I'm sorry Bob but I've been told by the secretary that you're not allowed in without a ticket". At half-time, I looked round and Bobby had left.
"I don't think he ever went back. Absolutely unbelievable. I'll never forget it as long as I live."
For a player who started his career at West Ham and served the club for so long, that is something which stands out for the wrong reasons.
Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich)
There is a great story which explains why West Germany's legend and leader - just listen to what John Giles had to say about playing against him on Off The Ball - decided to play for Bayern Munich rather than city rivals TSV 1860 Munich.
Der Kaiser had always dreamed of playing for 1860 but after a tempestous underage match against them which left plenty of ill-will, Beckenbauer decided to sign for Bayern instead in 1959, at the age of 15.
He would go on to win three European Cups, five German Cups and five Bundesliga titles over the next 20 years.
But in 1977, one year on from winning the last of his trio of European Cups, Beckenbauer swapped Germany for a stint in the North American Soccer League with the New York Cosmos.
Beckenbauer reportedly received a lucrative $2.5M contract to leave for the NASL.
Recently on Team 33 we discussed the Cosmos of Pele and Beckenbauer with the club's historian which you can listen to below:
The Munich native would return to the Bundesliga in 1980 where he would win the league title again in 1982, prior to another year Stateside with the Cosmos.
Pep Guardiola (Barcelona)
A Barcelona icon as both a player and manager, the Bayern Munich manager's career with the Catalan giants began as a 13-year-old in the youth ranks.
Over the next two decades, he would rise through the ranks to win the European Cup, multiple La Liga titles with Johan Cruyff's Dream Team and would also become club captain.
But in 2001 with ever increasing injury problems, the former midfielder decided to call time on his Barcelona career after almost 20 years at the Camp Nou.
What followed was a nomadic spell around Serie A with Brescia and Roma, before rounding off his career in the Middle East and Mexico.
Raul (Real Madrid)
Like Beckenbauer, former Real Madrid great Raul has also found himself at the Cosmos.
Born in Madrid, and a former member of Atletico's youth team until the academy was closed down, Raul would achieve glory and distinction with Real.
Joining Real at 15 in 1992, the 37-year-old would go on to win everything there was to win at club level including three European Cups, six La Liga titles and the Intercontinental Cup.
He also went on to become Real's record goalscorer and appearance holder.
Although his powers were on the wane, the end was abrupt in 2010, when Real decided to cut ties with him after almost 20 years.
Along with fellow Real youth product and team-mate Guti, the former Spain captain was deemed surplus to requirements, despite the fact that incoming manager Jose Mourinho publicly stated that he wanted the club legend to stay.
Raul left for Germany's Schalke and also later played in Qatar, during which time former team-mate Luis Figo stated: "Raul wanted to stay in Madrid. He wanted to retire with the Merengue club, but he was not able to. I hope he's happy in Qatar."
Alesandro Del Piero way back in 1996 ©INPHO
Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)
Strictly speaking, the Juventus man was not a one-club man, having played a dozen matches at Padova to kickstart his long and illustrious career.
However, special dispensation can be applied in his case as the Italy World Cup winner spent just shy of 20 years with Juve, becoming a legend in that time.
Despite scoring almost 300 goals in just over 700 games, the Bianconeri decided to let Del Piero go in 2012.
Although he still managed to appear in over 20 Serie A matches in his final season, the club used him more sparingly and in October 2011, club president Andrea Agnelli confirmed that Juventus would not offer Del Piero a contract extension.
Having been made aware of those words, Del Piero would tell Vanity Fair magazine: "Angelli's remarks surprised me."
While he did speak and conduct himself in dignified tones as the end approached, Juve's all-time leading scorer and 1996 Champions League winner did add: "I cannot imagine my future, it is a huge change and it scares me a little bit, because it is like leaving your home a second time."
Since leaving Turin, the 40-year-old has played for Sydney FC in Australia and also lined up for Delhi Dynamos in the inaugural Indian Super League.
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