Golden Oldies
Will Ronaldo follow in the footsteps of these forty-something footballers?
Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a contract extension at Real Madrid that will keep him at the European champions until 2021. A five-year contract is not too shabby for a 31-year-old but Ronaldo has declared that this deal will not be his last. In fact, he thinks he has another decade in him. “I still have a long way to go,” Ronaldo said at the press conference for his new contract. “Ten years.” If this prediction of the future were to come true it would make Ronaldo 41, an age long past which most top footballers have hung up their boots. Most but not all. Here are 10 other outfield players that refused to give in to the passage of time and continued into their forties.
Sir Stanley Matthews – 50
Matthews played his final game in the English top flight after he had marked his 50th birthday, turning out for Stoke City in the First Division game against Fulham in February 1965, 33 years after he made his debut for the club. The war disrupted his career between the ages of 24 and 30 but Matthews moved to Blackpool two years later, where he picked up two FA Cup runners-up medals, before finally lifting the trophy at 38. He won the inaugural Ballon d’Or in 1956 at 41.
Kazuyoshi Miura – 49
Currently the world’s oldest professional footballer is still turning out for Yokohama FC in the Japanese second tier. This summer he became the country’s oldest goalscorer at 49. The first Japanese player to win the Asian Footballer of the Year title and the first Japanese footballer to play in Italy’s Serie A, Kazu continues to set records and might have earned a contract extension for next season.
Roger Milla – 44
The Cameroon striker was already 38 when he burst onto the international scene with his breakout performances for the Indomitable Lions at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. His four goals took his country to the quarters that year and four years later in the US, he became the oldest goalscorer in World Cup history at 42. Named African Footballer of the Year in 1976, Milla’s club career was not as memorable as his outings for his country and after time in Cameroon and France it finished in Indonesia at 44.
Cuauhtemoc Blanco – 43
Blanco finished as a champion, winning the Mexican Cup in his final appearance for Puebla for a fitting end to a career where he had played in the MLS, Spanish Primera Liga and at three World Cups for Mexico. He then made one more appear- ance as a 43-year-old for Club America the following season in order to finish his career at the club he made his name.
Rivaldo – 43
A league champion in Brazil, Spain, Greece and Uzbekistan, Rivaldo also won the Champions League with AC Milan and the World Cup with Brazil in 2002. He retired 12 years after that at 43 with Brazilian side Mogi Mirim where he famously played with his son.
Romario – 42
The striker claims to have scored more than 1,000 goals in his career – controversially including junior games, friendlies and non-official matches – but what is not disputed was the trophies he won around the world. The peak of them was the 1994 World Cup in the US but it was another 15 years before he made his final appearance. Romario is currently a senator in Brazil.
Teddy Sheringham – 42
The England striker got better with age, earning the Footballer of the Year from the press and his fellow professionals in 2001 at 35 while at Manchester United. He then returned to Tottenham Hotspur before spells at Portsmouth and West Ham United in the Premier League. The oldest player to score in the Premier League, at 40, Sheringham played his last game at Colchester when he was 42.
Paolo Maldini – 41
A one-club man and similarly decorated but Maldini by virtue of being Italian also had the opportunity of challenging in international football. By the time of his retirement he had finished as runner-up in both the World Cup and European Championships with Italy and won seven Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and a remarkable five European Cup and Champions League titles with AC Milan, having played in a record eight Champions League finals. Maldini was also the first defender to win World Soccer magazine’s annual World Player of the Year award.
Ryan Giggs – 40
Ronaldo’s former teammate is the most decorated player in the history of club football and spent his entire career at Old Trafford after bursting on to the scene as a teenage winger. By the time he retired at 40, Giggs had reinvented himself as a central midfielder and had won 13 Premier League titles, four FA Cups, four League Cups and the Champions League twice among 35 trophies. In his final game, a 3-1 win over Hull City, interim playermanager Giggs brought himself on as a substitute, coming close to extending his record of scoring in 21 consecutive Premier League seasons.
Francesco Totti – 40
Yet another one-club man, Totti has defied the odds to play into his 40s with AS Roma. He recently set a record of 100 European appearances for the club he captains. Diego Maradona recently pleaded with Totti to carry on playing for another 10 years. That might be a step too far but if he continues to contribute from the bench his career won’t end this season.