MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND - APRIL 01: Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan makes a point during the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday at Riverside Stadium on April 01, 2024 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Barry Bannan has entered his 10th season as a Sheffield Wednesday player and has collected modern legend status along the way.
With 408 Sheffield Wednesday performances behind him and now into his 10th campaign with the club, there’s few that would doubt Barry Bannan is a figure that deserves a day of thanks at Hillsborough to celebrate his achievements since arriving from Crystal Palace nearly a decade ago. And though it’s clear his focus remains on his status as a standout figure within the Owls’ first team line-up, he’s confirmed he would like a testimonial some time in the future.
Wednesday supporters gathered at Hillsborough at the start of August in celebration of Liam Palmer’s continued assault up the club’s all-time appearance makers list and watched a draw with La Liga outfit CD Leganes that signalled the start of the 2024/25 campaign at S6. The Scotland international was the centre of attention on a day that saw the club’s fan base salute his long and storied association with the club.
Bannan, who having crossed into a 10th season now qualifies for testimonial status as by long-standing football tradition, has captained the club since 2020 and last year lifted the League One play-off trophy alongside Palmer to cap a remarkable promotion achievement. Speaking to The Star on the evening of Palmer’s grand day out, Bannan made clear that while he had plenty of miles left in the legs yet, a similar celebration of his time at Wednesday is something he would like to experience some way down the line.
Hopefully,” he smiled. “This is my 10th season. I don’t know how hard it was for Palms to get one, I’ll be speaking to him about that! But hopefully in the long run I’ll get one of these days and I’ll look forward to it. Sticking around this long it’s nice to have something like that at the end. I know he enjoyed it, so I’ll look forward to mine if it happens.
There doesn’t appear to be any major rush as far as the Owls skipper goes. But well-known to be a passionate lifelong Celtic supporter, there’s little doubt who Bannan’s ideal opposition would be on the day. Asked who he’d fancy in a dream testimonial date, he said: “I think everybody knows! If not them, then maybe I’d have one of my old teams like Aston Villa or something but I’m not bothered to be honest. As long as all my home fans are here and my family, if you get a good turnout and your family are here then it would be great.
