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Footballers tend to have a rather short shelf life. Unlike some other sports where players can carry on well into their late 30s or even 40s, football’s demanding nature turns players obsolete quite quickly.
Once a footballer turns 30, their performances generally tend to decline and they end up moving to easier leagues for bigger pay-cheques.
Some football stars, however, refuse to give in to the norm and get a second wind in the twilight of their careers. Today, we will take a look at a few football stars who have gotten better with age.
Here are five footballers who hit their peak after their 30th birthdays:
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#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
At 40, AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the oldest player on our list. The Swede has had successful stints at multiple big European clubs, but the blistering four-season spell he enjoyed at Paris Saint-Germain remains special.
He joined PSG a couple of months before his 31st birthday in 2012. His personality and winning pedigree helped him become Ligue 1’s undisputed frontman in the blink of an eye.
In the next four seasons, he made 180 appearances for the Parisians, scoring 156 goals. Although he couldn’t win the Champions League, the former Juventus and Inter Milan star surely helped PSG become a club to be reckoned with.
The 40-year-old won four Ligue 1 titles and two French Cups amongst other domestic honors before joining Manchester United in 2016.
At Manchester United, too, he was quite a phenomenon, scoring 29 goals for the Red Devils in 53 appearances across competitions.
Currently at Milan, he is still finding it in himself to be productive in one of Europe's top-five leagues.
He has eight Serie A goals to his name this season already and is on course to reach double-figures before the current campaign concludes.
#4 Karim Benzema
La Liga giants Real Madrid signed Karim Benzema from Lyon in the summer of 2009. They signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United in the same window. The duo immediately struck a partnership and dominated almost every team for the next nine seasons.
With Ronaldo by his side, Benzema took on a more creative role, working overtime to create space for the Portuguese to exploit.
Since Ronaldo’s departure in 2018, Benzema has had to fill in as Real Madrid’s primary goalscorer. Surprising his critics, the 34-year-old passed the test with flying colors.
Since the 2018-19 campaign, the Frenchman has been a lot more trigger-happy and aggressive around the penalty area. He has popped up with goals and assists without forsaking his unmatched link-up play.
On Wednesday night, Benzema scored a tie-winning 17-minute hat-trick against PSG in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg. Buoyed by his triple strike, Los Blancos overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit and booked their place in the quarter-finals by winning the tie 3-2 on aggregate.
Since turning 30, Benzema has scored over 120 goals for Real Madrid across all competitions, winning one Champions League and one La Liga title. He has scored at least 20 La Liga goals in his last four seasons, including the ongoing one.
After a prolonged absence from France’s squad due to off-field controversies, Benzema returned to the team last year. He scored four goals in as many Euro 2020 matches, emerging as their leading scorer.
The forward also helped his team to the UEFA Nations League title, scoring a goal each in the semi-finals and final.
#3 Luka Modric
The oldest player in Real Madrid’s ranks right now, Luka Modric, 36, is one of the best midfielders in the world. The Croatian is intelligent, versatile, and has incredible stamina.
The Real Madrid No.10 can run tirelessly for an entire game, while keeping the opposition guessing with his effortless, inch-perfect passes. His brilliance was on full display on Wednesday night when he, alongside Karim Benzema, inspired Los Blancos’ historic Champions League comeback win against PSG.
Since turning 30, Modric has won three consecutive Champions League trophies, two La Liga titles, and a Ballon d’Or (2018).
He is the only player since Ricardo Kaka (2007) to have beaten Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to the personal accolade in the last 14 years.
#2 Robert Lewandowski
Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski has always been an excellent goalscorer. However, since turning 30, he has somehow unlocked a new dimension in his game. He is clinical, remorseless, and seems eager to improve with each passing day.
The Bayern Munich posterboy doesn't score the most outrageous goals but the efficiency he brings to the table remains unmatched. Since turning 30, the 33-year-old has scored 185 goals across all competitions for Bayern Munich, shattering numerous records.
In the 2019-20 campaign, he scored a whopping 55 goals across the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, and the Champions League. His goals helped Bayern to the treble and the Pole became the first player since Johan Cruyff to win the triplet as the top scorer in all three competitions.
Lewandowski is also the reigning "The Best FIFA Men’s Player". He won the prestigious individual accolade for the second consecutive time at the start of the year.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
The leading goalscorer (804 goals) in the history of men’s football, Cristiano Ronaldo’s footballing peak came during first spell with Manchester United. His pace, dazzling feet, and audacious play down the left-flank turned him into a sensation, arguably the best in the world.
However, only after turning 30, did he manage to make himself immortal. Only after crossing the dreaded threshold, Ronaldo attained the accolades he craved the most.
Between 2016 and 2018, Ronaldo won three consecutive Champions League titles with Real Madrid, playing a starring role in each season. In the summer of 2016, he helped his country Portugal to the European Championship.
Yes, he could not carry on in the grand final due to a knee injury, but his goals ensured the team's passage to the grand event.
His exploits for Real Madrid and Portugal helped him to two consecutive Ballon d’Or wins in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
The 37-year-old has scored over 200 goals in club football since turning 30 and has no intention of stopping anytime soon.
