The 7 oldest outfield players to ever play in Europe’s top five leagues: Zlatan 5th…
Former AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Barcelona stars are among the oldest outfield players to have ever played in Europe’s top five leagues.
With the recent advances in sports science, it’s becoming increasingly common that professional footballers are playing into their forties.
Since 1992, here are the seven oldest outfield players to have played in the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga and Ligue 1.
7. Amedeo Carboni – 41 years, 1 month, 10 days
The Italian defender spent the last nine years of his career playing in Spain for Valencia and made his final La Liga appearance at the age of 41.
At the time of his retirement in 2006, he was only two months younger than Valencia’s manager at the time, Quique Sanchez Flores.
6. Benjamin Nivet – 41 years, 4 months, 17 days
The French attacking midfielder spent most of his career playing for Troyes and he made his final appearance in Ligue 1 in 2018 at the age of 41.
It’s worth noting that Nivet did continue playing until the age of 42, but Troyes were in Ligue 2 during his final season as a professional.
5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 41 years, 5 months, 15 days
After joining LA Galaxy in 2018 at the age of 36, most people had assumed that he’d end his career in the United States.
However, after scoring 53 goals in two years, he made his return to Europe in 2019 and spent another four years playing for AC Milan before he eventually retired.
Even in the twilight years of his career, the Swedish international still knew how to find the back of the net.
During his second spell with Milan, Ibrahimovic scored 37 goals in 78 appearances and helped the club win the Serie A title.
He made his final league appearance at the age of 41 and holds the record as the oldest outfield player to feature in Italy’s top flight since 1992.
4. Dante – 41 years, 6 months, 29 days*
Still playing in Ligue 1 for Nice, Dante has the opportunity to rise on this list when he plays next season.
His last league appearance came back in May and he was 41 years old at the time. He recently extended his contract for the 2025-26 season, meaning that he’ll play in Ligue 1 until he’s at least 42 years old.
Despite his age, the Brazilian hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down in recent years. He made 25 league appearances last season and still seems as motivated as ever to continue at the top level.
“Every time I’m entering the pitch, I say to myself it could be my final game,” Dante said during an interview last year.
“I have to make the most of it. I am aiming for June 2026 but I will not go beyond that. That’s confirmed.
“That means that if next year I play again, it will be my last season.”
3. Claudio Pizarro – 41 years, 8 months, 24 days
Pizarro made his final Bundesliga appearance in June 2020, aged 41 years, 8 months, 24 days old.
The Peru international spent his last couple of seasons playing for Werder Bremen, where he’d previously had three other stints.
His last appearance came in a 6-1 hammering of FC Koln, with Pizarro coming off the bench for the last few minutes of the game.
To this day, he’s still the oldest outfield player to ever feature in the Bundesliga.
2. Joaquin – 41 years, 10 months, 14 days
The former Real Betis winger holds the record as the outright oldest player to have ever made an appearance in La Liga since 1992.
Joaquin spent the bulk of his career playing for Betis and during his two spells with the club, racked up over 500 appearances.
After helping the club qualify for the Europa League, he announced his retirement at the end of the 2022–23 campaign.
1. Vitorino Hilton – 43 years, 8 months, 10 days
The oldest outfield player in the history of Europe’s top five leagues is Hilton, who was almost 44 years old when he made his final Ligue 1 appearance for Montpellier.
He spent a decade playing for the French club and racked up over 350 appearances for them between 2011 and 2021.
Amazingly, he continued playing after leaving Montpellier and had a short stint with French third division club FC Sete, before he finally called it quits on his playing days.
Aged 43 years, 8 months, 10 days, it’s tough to see anyone breaking his record soon.
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