#5. Ricardo Carvalho – Portugal
The 38-year-old Monaco centre-back who formerly played for Chelsea and Real Madrid was one of Europe’s best defenders in his prime. Carvalho has also made significant contributions for the Portuguese national team and was a key player in the teams that reached the final in Euro 2004 and the semi-finals in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was named in the Team of the Tournament at both the tournaments.
Carvalho had initially retired from the national team in 2011 but was lured out of retirement in 2014 by the newly appointed manager Fernando Santos after Portugal’s disastrous start to the Euro 2016 qualifiers. He once again became the defensive mainstay for Portugal and the side conceded only four goals in the next seven matches. Carvalho’s experience makes him a very crucial player for Portugal at Euro 2016 and being 38 already, Carvalho would be looking forward to end his Portugal career on a high.