Daily Advent Nigeria

Top 6 old footballers who have completely REFUSED to RETIRE. No.2 is 40 and fit!

Top 6 old footballers who have completely REFUSED to RETIRE. No.2 is 40 and fit!

There comes a time in football that every player must decide to stop simply because you can’t go on forever. Young players are always coming through and if you don’t tell yourself it’s time to hang those boots or gloves, you might have to be pushed aside to pave way for raw talents to thrive. Today, we focus on a group of players still hanging in there despite the curtains closing down on them,  they might still be good but surely at 44, you are not good enough anymore.

6. Samuel Etoo- (Qatar SC) 37 years

Former Cameroon skipper and Africa most decorated footballer Samuel Etoo left Turkish side Konyaspor to join his 13th club Qatar SC this summer. He has played for Real Madrid, Barcelona, InterMilan and Chelsea among other clubs. He says he is 37 years but according to his former wife, you might have to add 7 years to that number to get the real figure.

The problem started when his former boss Jose Mourinho said he did not believe Etoo was 32 years at the time. ‘The problem with Chelsea is I lack a scorer,’ said Mourinho.

‘I have Eto’o but he is 32 years old, maybe 35, who knows?’

Then his former girlfriend Anna Barranca told the Sun Newspaper that the striker was actually born in 1974 not 81 as he claims. ‘I think Samuel is not 35 he is more 39. (2014)

‘Samuel was born in 1974 and so that makes him 39 now.’ Now if we use 1974, Etoo is actually 44-year-old. We might never know the truth.

5. John Terry- (Free Agent) 37 years

Chelsea legend John Terry has not found a club interested in him just yet. He captained Aston Villa last season but they lost playoff final to Fulham and his stay there was over. The 37-year-old legendary English central defender has refused to retire despite the fact that Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard retired aged 35 and 36 respectively. Both are now coaching Rangers FC and Derby County respectively.

Terry believes one more deal is coming his way soon. A free agent is not worried about transfer window timelines because they can still be signed even after it closes. We all know he was the driver when Stamford Bridge enjoyed great success in Premier League, Europa, UEFA Champions League, League Cup and FA Cup. He has won all of them.

4. Claudio Pizarro- (Bremen) 39 years

#washabichmichgefreut #pizza #claudiopizarro #lieblingsspieler #werderbremen <3

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Claudio Pizarro is one of those players that have been around for quite sometimes. He has been moving from Bayern Munich to and from Wender Bremen twice now and I don’t really think there is a third time now. He has also represented his country Peru well over that period making him the most popular star from the South American country. He has scored 307 goals in 738 matches in his club career so far and 20 in 85 Caps for his country. He is surely enjoying his last spell with Werder Bremen now.

3. Didier Drogba- (Phoenix) 40 years

Former Ivory Coast Captain Didier Drogba has been asked several times about his retirement but he continues to keep pundits guessing. He left Chelsea for the second time after helping them lift Premier League and League Cup double and all Blues fans expected him to hang his boots and take up a coaching role at the Club. He said no and signed for Major League Soccer side Montreal Impact. We thought that was all but before we knew it, he had signed for MLS second division side Phoenix Rising. He is a co-owner there and that might mean nobody will stop him from playing.

2. Gianluigi Buffon- (PSG) 40 years

In a normal football career a player would play at least 100 times for his country but Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon has now represented his country for 176 times. We all expected him to hang his boots after leaving Juventus in June but we were wrong. He joined PSG and now he is the number one there.

We all agree he has won everything in his career including 2006 World Cup trophy but it is time to give someone else a chance. The fact that he failed to lift UEFA Champions League crown with the Old Lady might be his motivation to continue playing. The other day he exchanged shirts with Lillian Thuram son more than 18 years after playing alongside his dad. In fact, today he is playing alongside Liberia President George Weah son at PSG. He also played alongside his dad.

1.Essam El-Hadary- (Ismaily) 45 years

Egypt legendary goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary became the oldest player ever to feature in FIFA World Cup history. The 45-year-old shot-stopper was given a chance to start in the final group game against Saudi Arabia and he actually saved a penalty. He plays for local club Ismaily. He enjoyed a lot of success with giants Al-Ahly between 1996 and 2008. This includes all domestic trophies as well CAF Champions League. Nobody really knows when he will ever stop playing but after World Cup elimination in Russia, he announced retirement from International football.