Liverpool FC's Jamie Carragher is the 2025 One-Club Man

Liverpool FC’s Jamie Carragher is the 2025 One-Club Man. The English defender represented the Reds across a 17-year professional career at Anfield, making 737 appearances for the club between 1996 and 2013.

‘Carra’ will come to San Mames to receive his award during Athletic Club’s LaLiga Matchday 6 clash against Girona FC (September 23 at 19:00 CEST).

He joins an illustrious list of previous male winners, which includes: Matthew Le Tissier (Southampton FC, 2015), Paolo Maldini (AC Milán, 2016), Sepp Maier (Bayern München, 2017), Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona, 2018), Billy McNeill (Celtic FC, 2019), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United, 2020), Ricardo Bochini (Club Atlético Independiente, 2022), João Pinto (FC Porto, 2023) and Giuseppe Bergomi (FC Internazionale de Milan, 2024).

Carragher is the second highest appearance maker in Liverpool history, only bettered by Ian Callaghan, and above icons of the game like Steven Gerrard, Ray Clemence, Emlyn Hughes, Ian Rush, Phil Neal, Tommy Smith, Bruce Grobbelaar and Alan Hansen, among many others.

What’s more, Jamie, who recently gained a Maltese passport via his maternal grandfather, holds the English record for European appearances, having played a total of 150 matches in UEFA competitions.

The centre-back has an impressive trophy cabinet, featuring one Champions League (2004/05), one UEFA Cup (2000/01), two UEFA Super Cups (2001, 2005) and two FA Cups (2000/01, 2005/06), along with his 38 England caps.

Despite having to compete with the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand for an England berth, Jamie was able to represent his nation at three major tournaments (World Cup 2006 and 2010, in addition to Euro 2004). If not for needing to undergo knew surgery, he probably would have been in Sven-Göran Eriksson’s squad for World Cup 2002 as well.

Before our pre-season friendly with Liverpool in August, Athletic Club sat down with Jamie at Anfield to discuss his career and the award.

“After winning the Champions League, being a one-club man is the biggest achievement of my career,” he told us.

“It was an honour when Athletic Club got in touch. Athletic are respected everywhere in the world of football. They’re a truly unique club.

“I’m very honoured to receive this award and to know my names will always remain alongside some great footballers like Paolo Maldini and Carles Puyol.

“As soon as I started playing for Liverpool, I knew I wanted to be a one-club man. I like the idea that when people ask: ‘who did you play for?’ You respond: ‘Liverpool’ and nothing else. I was a supporter on the pitch.”

Scouse born and bred

Born in 1978 and raised in the working-class Merseyside town of Bootle, part of the Liverpool City Region, Carragher has always proudly boasted his ‘Scouse’ identity, a factor which he feels helped endear him to the Anfield faithful.

Bootle traditionally being a Blue stronghold in Liverpool, Jamie actually grew up as an Everton fan, and was a witness to Everton FC’s glory days under former Athletic Club manager Howard Kendall.

Initially a forward, Carra’s first steps in football took place at local Sunday league team Merton Villa.
He joined Liverpool FC’s school of excellence in 1988, but spent the next year at Everton’s academy, before going back to Liverpool due to their better coaching and facilities.

Before long, Jamie left the Toffees behind for good and became a fully-fledged Red. Moved from up front to midfield, he progressed through the ranks before making his reserve team debut in the 1994/95 season.

That same year, Carra and Michael Owen led Liverpool’s Under-18s to FA Youth Cup glory in 1995/96, winning 2-1 in the final against a West Ham side that included Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand. It was during the tournament that Jamie first started to play in defence.

A growth spurt and some bulking up saw Jamie excel as a defender and he signed professional terms in October 1996, making his first-team debut under Roy Evans just three months later. He came on as a substitute for right-back Rob Jones in a League Cup quarter-final away leg against Middlesbrough FC. Two days later, at Anfield, Jamie made his Premier League debut and a week after that he scored his first senior goal in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa, also in Liverpool.

Acclaimed for his team spirit and willingness to make sacrifices, Jamie played in every position along the backline during the early stages of his career, even at times stepping into midfield. 

Turning out mostly at left-back, Jamie was an important part of the side that won a treble (League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup) under French coach Gerard Houllier in 2001. Carra played the full 120 minutes as the Reds beat Basque side Deportivo Alaves 5-4 in a thrilling UEFA Cup final.

Between 2002 and 2004, Carra’s progress was dented by two serious injuries, a knee issue that kept him out of the 2002 World Cup and a broken leg suffered against Blackburn Rovers in the first half of the 2003/04 campaign.

Testament to his resilience and tenacity, Jamie bounced back stronger in the 2004/05 season, making the centre-back birth his own under Spanish manager, Rafa Benitez. Forming an impressive defensive partnership with Sami Hyypiä, Carra put in some extraordinary performances as Liverpool reached that year’s Champions League final.

On that night in Istanbul, arguably the greatest Champions League final of all time, local boys Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard embodied the famous ‘never-say-die’ Scouse attitude as they dragged Liverpool back from the brink of defeat to eventual glory.

With the Reds 3-0 down against a star-studded, and favoured, AC Milan side at half-time, many thought Jamie and co were dead and buried. However, Gerrard kickstarted the comeback in the 54th minute and Liverpool were level by the hour mark, with Vladmir Smicer and Xabi Alonso adding their second and third goals.

As Gerrard fired the Reds up the pitch, Jamie put his body on the line at the back, battling serious cramp to make two crucial tackles to deny AC Milan, first blocking a close-range Kaka effort and then snuffing out a dangerous Andriy Shevchenko run into the box.

Liverpool held out and then won 2-3 on penalties thanks to Jerzy Dudek’s Bruce Grobbelaar-inspired ‘spaghetti legs’.

“We were never beaten,” Gerrard and Carra said in their joint post-match interview. For Jamie, it will always be the greatest achievement of his career, especially “as a local player and knowing how it affects so many people’s lives,” he said to Athletic Club.

A year later, in 2006, the defender was involved in one of the most memorable FA Cup finals in recent history, as Liverpool came from behind to draw 3-3 with West Ham in normal time, Gerrard scoring a memorable 91st-minute equaliser, and then beat the Londoners 3-1 on penalties. Carra had initially given the Hammers a 1-0 lead by scoring an own goal in the 21st minute.

In 2007, he was a losing Champions League finalist in Athens as AC Milan exacted revenge for the 2005 loss by beating Liverpool 2-1.

He eventually retired from football at the end of the 2013/14 season, saying “it has been a privilege and honour to represent this great club since I was nine”.

Before his final match at Anfield, Ian Callaghan and Steven Gerrard presented the defender with a special trophy, while he was brought off to a standing ovation in the 87th minute.

At international level, Jamie made a total of 38 appearances for the English national team. From his debut in 1999 until final retirement from international football in 2010, he was a part of crop of talented players, widely regarded as ‘golden generation’ of English football. There was an astonishing amount of depth at centre-back especially, with Carragher often competing for a place against the likes of Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Ledley King, Jonathan Woodgate and Matthew Upton.

Retirement and charity work

After hanging up his boots, Carra quickly establish himself as a respected pundit and commentator on Sky Sports UK, developing an acclaimed partnership with Gary Neville, former Manchester United captain and also a one-club man.

He’s a co-host of the popular Sky Sports podcast ‘The Overlap’, where he discusses current football issues and interviews guests with the show’s panel, which includes Neville, Jill Scott, Roy Keane and Ian Wright.

Jamie also forms part of CBS Sports’ Champions League coverage in the United States, working alongside presenter Kate Scott and fellow pundits Thierry Henry and Micah Richards.

In 2009, Jamie and his family set up the ’23 Foundation’ and in 2010 they donated £1 million to the charity to ensure it started with a solid financial footing, using the interest to assist worthy causes.

The 23 Foundation was founded with the idea of supporting kids in the Liverpool area to help give them a better chance in life by working with local charities, communities and football clubs. Since then, it has grown into a global organisation, using football as a social tool to improve the lives of disadvantaged children all over the world.