General Douglas MacArthur once said that old soldiers do not die but simple fade away in the end. That phrase is valid not only for men on the battlefields but also for captains who have served their football clubs with distinction for many years. Some have chosen to die, in the footballing sense, by extending their career away from the club where they made their name and achieved hero status.

The latest player to make the list is John Terry, who signed for Aston Villa on Monday after 717 games and 19 seasons wearing the blue of Chelsea
"I spent many incredible years at Chelsea but now a new chapter begins," said Terry upon signing for the Villains.
It was a similar situation with his former teammate Frank Lampard who was a hero at Stamford Bridge after 13 seasons and 648 games but left them in 2014 for Manchester City.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Roy Keane was a huge fan favourite with Manchester United but after a public falling out with his manager Sir Alex Ferguson, he left for Celtic, following 480 games in 13 seasons and many trophies.
The exiled captains

1.       Xavi (Barcelona): 767 games. Left for: Al Sadd

2.       Raúl (Real Madrid): 741 games. Schalke 04

3.       Casillas (Real Madrid): 725 games. Porto

4.       Terry (Chelsea): 717 games. Aston Villa

5.       Del Piero (Juventus): 705 games. Sydney FC

6.       Lampard (Chelsea): 648 games. Manchester City

7.       Beckenbauer (Bayern Múnich): 575 games. NY Cosmos

8.       Guti (Real Madrid): 542 games. Besiktas

9.       Roy Keane: (Manchester United) 480 games. Celtic
Franz Beckenbauer had a similar reputation at Bayern Munich, who he made 575 appearances for and joined New York Cosmos in the United States.
Seven Spaniards are on the list of players who have had the same kind of exit, including Raul, Iker Casillas, Guti, Xavi, Andoni Iraola, Fernando Colomer and Tomas Renones.
A departure from Real Madrid was not something that Raul had desired, having won three Champions League titles with Los Blancos as well as playing 741 games in 16 seasons but in 2010, he departed for Schalke.
His teammate for many seasons, Casillas, endured a similarly disappointing exit when, after 725 games for Real, he meekly left two years ago to join Porto. Guti played for the club for 15 seasons and made 542 appearances during that time before ultimately deciding to experience something different by joining Besiktas in Turkey.
After coming through the youth set up at Barcelona, Xavi established himself as one of the club's greatest players and captains across his 17 seasons there. But after a total of 767 appearances for the Camp Nou club, it was announced in 2015 that he was leaving to join Qatari club Al-Sadd.
Iraola had the same legendary status with Athletic Club and after 12 years there, opted for a move to New York before his retirement, a similar story for Colomer, who joined Wolverhampton Wanderers following 15 years at Valencia.
Renones was captain of Atletico Madrid during their double-winning season if 1995/96 season but after a lengthy career there, left at the end of the campaign to join Marbella.
Alessandro Del Piero was one of the greatest talents in Italian football history, as evidenced by his 19 seasons at the top level with Juventus, even staying loyal to them after their demotion to Serie B in 2006 but he too left before the end of his career in 2012 to join Sydney FC.