Alongside Lionel Messi's 91 goals in one calendar year, Just Fontaine's 13 goals in a single World Cup, or Chelsea's 15 conceded goals in a Premier League season, records that will be extremely tough to break are those related to the number of appearances for one club, set by the so-called "one-club men".Among those faithful legionnaires, the name of Paolo Maldini stands out, as the legendary defender spent his entire career at AC Milan, becoming the most capped player in the Rossoneri's history with 902 appearances, and the second-highest appearance maker for a single club in football, behind just Ryan Giggs, who wore the Manchester United shirt on 963 occasions.Forget €20m: Maldini reveals real reason Pep rejected ItalyAnd while the 58-year-old Italian is one of the symbols of loyalty, his son Daniel is taking a very different career path. Perhaps not entirely by his choice – after all, there can be only one Paolo Maldini – but the contrast between the two is impossible to ignore.The former defender spent his entire 25-year career at San Siro – including six years at the Rossoneri's academy and five more as one of the club's executives, taken together, that amounts to Paolo's 36 years at AC Milan.Paolo and his son Daniel Maldini's careers couldn't be more different 👀Both have had the honour of being capped by Italy at senior level, but one-club man Paolo dedicated his whole career to Milan, while Daniel had to leave his boyhood club in order to establish himself as a… pic.twitter.com/Su4FKpt6rY— OneFootball (@OneFootball) August 7, 2026 On the other hand, Daniel was unveiled earlier today as the new Cagliari player on loan from Atalanta, making the Rossoblu his seventh team in his six-year career!At first, he followed in his father's footsteps, spending 10 years at Milan's youth ranks. However, his transition from a prospect to a first-team player didn't go so smoothly.He was loaned out to Spezia, Empoli, and Monza, eventually joining Monza permanently after making just 24 appearances for the Rossoneri's senior squad.##NAJAVA_MECA_9883196##His excellent performances at Stadio Brianteo earned him a move to Atalanta, which was meant to get him back into the upper echelons of Italian football and perhaps even pave the way for a return to San Siro.Nevertheless, after only a year with La Dea, Daniel was loaned out to Lazio last January and now to Cagliari.Filling one's father's shoes is never easy. And when the father is Paolo Maldini, it's a genuine Herculean task. Living up to his legacy is practically impossible.
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