In football, age is not just a number. Once aged beyond 30, players are considered to be “beyond their prime”, with their performance, their speed, and their stamina starting to decrease,
ultimately reaching a point where their experience and skill are offset by their lack of performance which usually leads to retirement.
Every rule has its exceptions, though. There are players who refuse to give in to their age, performing at their peak even after, statistically, they aged beyond their prime, delighting their
fans with countless goals.
These names will likely sound familiar for those into live soccer betting: they are the oldest football stars still active today. Still, you know when they step into the field, the odds at Betway immediately bend in their teams’ favour.
Neymar (29)
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior – Neymar for short – started playing football in 1999, at the age of 7, in his native state São Paulo in Brazil. When graduating from the Santos youth academy in 2009, he became a player in the first team and quickly gained fame due to his performance in the field.
He made his European debut with Barcelona in 2013, cementing his football star status, before moving to his current team Paris Saint Germain where he scored more than 50 goals in a little over 60 league games to date.
Lionel Messi (33)
Messi actually considered retiring from active duty once… but his fans wouldn’t let him. The 33-year-old Argentine forward announced his intention to permanently step off the international turf back in 2016 but a campaign called “Don’t Go, Leo” started by his fans ultimately convinced him to reconsider.
Messi has been with Barcelona since 2004, playing more than 500 league games with the club and scoring over 450 goals in the process.
Sergio Ramos (34)
Sergio Ramos García started his professional career with the Spanish team Sevilla in 2003, first in the B team, then – a season later – in the first team.
His career there was short, though,
because he quickly moved on to Real Madrid where he has finally shown his worth. Since 2005, he won four UEFA Champions League and five La Liga titles with the club and has become one
of the Spanish top-tier league’s players with the most goals on record.
Manuel Neuer (35)
Manuel Peter Neuer started his career with Bundesliga club Schalke 04 where he spent the first seven years of his professional career. When he moved on to Bayern Munich, though, he truly started to shine.
The now 35-year-old goalkeeper is the captain of both Bayern and the German national football team. He has five UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year and IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper awards
under his belt.
Cristiano Ronaldo (36)
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time he recently matched Brazilian football legend Pelé’s official record, and he doesn’t seem to have
any intention to stop.
Cristiano Ronaldo started playing football in 1992, at the age of 7, switching several youth teams before graduating from Sporting CP’s youth academy. After just one season, he was
snatched by Manchester United where he became the football star he is today, helping the team win three successive Premier League titles.
But his true rise to stardom happened at Real Madrid, where he scored more than 310 goals in 292 league games, won the Ballon d’Or three times, and became the first player in history to win the UEFA Champions League title five times.
Today, Cristiano Ronaldo is the captain of the Portugal national team and plays as a forward for Serie A team Juventus.
