I know this is not quite what you are talking about, and I've only been around for 5 seasons, but I had a player I got attatched to. He was in my first season squad, but was then aged 30. He picked up some good match ratings, and I was sorry to see him retire at the end of season 3. So I cheated a little. At the start of season 4, I bought a young 22 yo, who played the same position, and re-named him after the original. So the name lives on.