The insane XI of footballers still going strong over 40: Ronaldo, Dzeko, Neuer… | OneFootball

Most players are ready to retire by their mid-thirties, but some just refuse to call it quits too early.

A football career is a short one and you only get one of them, so these players have been making the most of theirs by continuing to play into their forties.

We’ve put them into a 4-3-3 formation and three of the 11 names should be going to the World Cup this summer. Beyond then, who’ll keep playing for the longest?

GK: Manuel Neuer

One of the best and most complete goalkeepers of all time, Neuer celebrated his 40th birthday last week.

Still Bayern Munich’s main keeper and captain, the German legend is out of contract at the end of the season, after which there are plans for Jonas Urbig to become his long-term successor.

But a contract renewal for Neuer – who retired from international duty in 2024 – isn’t out of the question in Bavaria. Talks will wait until he knows how well he has shaken off the physical issues that have impacted him this season.

Bayern boss Vincent Kompany recently stated: “Manu fought his way back from a major injury; that was truly impressive. This season, he has been in incredible form. To consistently deliver like that – it’s a mental thing.”

DF: Ashley Young

Last season, Young was still playing in the Premier League for Everton, but he dropped into the Championship for the first time in 20 years after they released him.

The right-back, who turned 40 in July, has made 15 appearances for Ipswich Town so far, five of which have been starts. Whether he continues beyond the end of his contract this summer remains to be seen.

In his prime, Young was best known for his spells with Aston Villa and Manchester United, also representing England 39 times between 2007 and 2018.

DF: Thiago Silva

Silva defied his age during his four-year spell in the Premier League with Chelsea, when he was already in his mid-to-late thirties.

The defender returned to his native Brazil with Fluminense in 2024, but rocked back up in Europe in December by re-joining his former club Porto, a couple of decades after turning out for their reserves.

Now 41, Silva has played eight times for Porto since, including the full 90 minutes of both legs of their Europa League round of 16 win over Stuttgart. He is under contract until the end of the season.

DF: Raul Albiol

A member of the Spain squads that won Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, Albiol enjoyed spells with Valencia, Real Madrid, Napoli and Villarreal in his heyday.

In September, a couple of days before his 40th birthday, Albiol returned to Italy after six years back in Spain to join Serie A newcomers Pisa.

The centre-back has made nine appearances for Pisa so far, recently returning to the starting lineup after shaking off some muscular problems.

DF: Dante

Usually when clubs sign players in their thirties, they expect them to be short-term servants. Thus, when Nice signed a 32-year-old Dante from Wolfsburg in 2016, they might not have imagined him still playing for them a decade later.

The left-footed defender has become a force of nature over more than 300 games for Nice, even earning a place in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year for 2023-24, his first campaign as a quadragenarian in which he logged more minutes than any of his outfield teammates.

Dante has captained Nice since 2017, but it has already been confirmed he is due to retire when his contract expires at the end of the season.

“There are two months left before I retire. I don’t care what condition my knees are in. If they have to explode, they will explode,” he recently exclaimed as Nice navigate a turbulent season, in which they are not entirely safe from relegation.

CM: Luka Modric

It’s testament to Modric’s dedication and ability that when the time came to leave Real Madrid at the age of 39 after an honour-laden 13-year spell, he chose to continue his career in one of Europe’s top leagues with AC Milan.

The 2018 Ballon d’Or winner, who turned 40 in September, has started 28 of Milan’s 30 Serie A matches this season, coming off the bench in one more.

Scoring twice along the way, Modric has impressed enough that Milan want him to extend his contract for another year. The Croatian legend can trigger an option in his terms to do so (the decision is his, not the club’s) and may well be tempted.

First, though, he will be focusing on his fifth World Cup campaign this summer after captaining his country to silver and bronze medals in 2018 and 2022 respectively.

CM: James Milner

Fresh from setting the Premier League appearance record, Milner is in his 24th consecutive top-flight season and third with Brighton.

The versatile former Manchester City and Liverpool midfielder plays more as a substitute these days, but has still logged more than 700 minutes of Premier League gametime this term and has started four of Brighton’s past five league games.

He turned 40 in January, a few months after becoming the second-oldest goalscorer in Premier League history.

CM: Santi Cazorla

Cazorla left European football behind him when he departed Villarreal in 2020 to join Al Sadd, but he returned to Spain to sign for his boyhood club Oviedo in 2023.

He took the minimum lawful salary after being prevented from playing for free as he originally wished.

Oviedo were in the second tier at the time, but he helped them win promotion to LaLiga by the end of his second season.

Thus, Cazorla is captaining Oviedo in their first top-flight season for 24 years. Now 41, the former Arsenal playmaker has featured 20 times this season, starting four of those games.

FW: Lukas Podolski

It’s been more than a decade since Podolski played in one of Europe’s top five leagues, with his Arsenal spell ending with a stint on loan at Inter.

Since then, the former Germany forward has played in Turkey and Japan, before returning to his country of birth – Poland – with Gornik Zabrze in 2021.

The 40-year-old has scored 25 goals from 130 games for Gornik and was the Polish top flight’s leading assist provider in the 2022-23 season. His side – which he even became a shareholder of in December – sit fourth in the current standings.

“Basically yes, this is supposed to be my last season,” Podolski said in November. “If we should manage a sporting coup, it could be that I would like to take part in that one more time.

“I still love playing, and I also get great pleasure from helping the young players in the team with my experience. But I’m not 30 anymore, so I start to feel a few aches and pains here and there.”

FW: Cristiano Ronaldo

The day will come when Ronaldo and his long-time rival Lionel Messi (who is now 38) bid farewell to football, but it hasn’t arrived yet.

Ronaldo will be representing Portugal at his sixth World Cup this summer and is continuing his quest towards the milestone of 1000 career goals.

Still under contract for another year with Al Nassr, for whom he has scored 115 goals from 131 games since 2023, Ronaldo is unlikely to ever add to his five Ballons d’Or, but remains one of the world’s most recognisable and influential footballers – even at the age of 41.

FW: Edin Dzeko

Dzeko headed in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s goal against Wales in their World Cup play-off semi-final, with the assist provided by Kerim Alajbegovic – a player who wasn’t even born when the former Manchester City and Roma striker made his international debut.

After turning 40 in March, Dzeko now has a second World Cup of his career to look forward to after Bosnia beat Italy in their final play-off game.

Dzeko, who scored more than 20 goals for Fenerbahce last season, had an unsuccessful spell with Fiorentina earlier this season, but the lofty striker has since got back on track with a move to second-tier German giants Schalke, where he has six goals from eight games so far.