Cristiano Ronaldo will remain with Al-Nassr until 2027 after having signed a two-year contract extension.
After the speculations according to which his time with the Saudi Pro League could be finished, Ronaldo put him on paper on an agreement which, if he sees him, will see him play for Al-Nassr until the age of 42.
The legend of Manchester United and Real Madrid showed a remarkable longevity in a career in which he also played for the sport of Lisbon and Juventus.
But he is far from being the first big game to continue playing well in his forties.
Here, we look at five players that Ronaldo emulates while continuing to play beyond 40, including three World Cup winners.
Ryan Giggs
After bursting into the stage as an early adolescent in the early 90s and claimed a place as a leftIe -length of United in front of Lee Sharpe, Giggs was a constant in the United team until the end of the 2014 season.
He made the decision to hang up his boots only six months before his 40th birthday.
Giggs came out of the bench in the 2008 Champions League final to play alongside Ronaldo and help his Portuguese teammate winning this trophy for the first time. The Welshman scored in the victory of United, helping to atone for the Miss previous of Ronaldo.
It was the first of the five titles of the Champions League for Ronaldo. It was the last of the five trophies of the International Club for Giggs, which won a 35 -year step during his career.
Giggs played 32 appearances during his penultimate season, as in 2012-13 while United snatched the title of Manchester City in the last campaign of Alex Ferguson as a manager.
His last season saw Giggs named player-coach by David Moyes. Giggs ended this campaign as an acting director, appointed in April after Moyes was noted from his duties.
Francesco Totti
In the rest of a theme, Totti was another man to a club, spending his entire career with Roma.
Totti made his debut at the age of 16 in 1993 and, as a prolific offensive midfielder, became the most loved player in the history of the Roma.
Its 250 goals rank second in all times of Serie A, 13 of them in the 2000-01 campaign which delivered the last Scudetto de Roma. Five years after this triumph, Totti raised the World Cup with Italy.
Totti then won the Coppa Italia twice in successive seasons for Roma, with whom he ended his career in 2017 at 40.
His last appearance occurred on May 28 of the same year when he replaced Mohamed Salah in the 54th minute of a victory over Genoa, receiving a delighted ovation of the crowd of the Stadio Olimpico.
🗓️ | 05/28/2017.
That day: @Totti‘S 𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 💛❤️ pic.twitter.com/qflniuhb0p– Series Lega (@seriea_en) May 28, 2022
Paolo Maldini
Without doubt the biggest defender of all time, Maldini began his professional career with AC Milan in 1984 and stayed with the Rossoneri until his retirement in 2009.
The legendary central rear, which could also operate as a left back, won the Scudetto seven times, being an integral part of the Milan team which dominated the early 90s.
Maldini also raised the Champions League five times, although Glory with Italy escaped him. He was part of the Azzurri team who suffered the sorrow of a loss on penalties during the 1994 World Cup final.
In total, Maldini played 902 appearances for Milan. He later became their sports director, with his work on the key to the Milan Scudetto transfer market during the 2021-222 season.
Athens, May 23, 2007 🏆7️⃣
Hang
Oddo nesta maldini © ️ jankulovski
Gattuso Pirlo Ambrosini
Seedorf Kaka
Inzaghi ⚽⚽ #Ordayday #Sempremilan pic.twitter.com/wd0rh6v1sf
– AC Milan (@acmilan) May 23, 2023
Romario
While Giggs, Totti and Maldini have all spent their careers with a club, Romario was nomadic when he played in his forties.
Having started his professional career with Vasco Da Gama in 1985, Romario appreciated the spells with PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona and Valence among a crowd of other stops.
He had four distinct stays in Vasco and three in Flamengo. Romario also played for Fluminense in his homeland, the Brazilian also bringing his talents to Saudi Arabia, the United States and Australia.
Romario won three Eredivisie titles with PSV and the Crown of Laliga with Barcelona. However, his realization of coronation occurred at the 1994 World Cup, where he won the golden ball while Brazil beat Italy on the title.
He retired in 2008 at the age of 42, only to get out of his retirement a year later to play for Side America, based in Rio de Janeiro, citing the wishes of his late father.
Incredibly, Romario was withdrawn from retirement last year and was recorded as a player-president of America at the age of 58 to play alongside his son Romarinho. Technically, a remarkably long career always takes place.
Stanley Matthews
One of the greatest footballers in England has ever produced, Matthews established standards for longevity with a career that extended from 1932 to 1965.
The man known as “Wizard of Dribble” has officially played more than 800 professional games, spending 19 years in his career with Stoke City and 14 with Blackpool.
However, this count does not have the appearances that Matthews made during the Second World War, a period in which he played 69 times for Stoke and made 87 appearances for Blackpool. Matthews also played for several Scottish teams, including the Rangers, as well as a match for a Scotland XI and a pair for Arsenal. The war years have also seen him do 29 unofficial appearances in England.
Matthews played in the 1950 and 1954 World Cup, although the realization that meant the most for him arrived in 1953 when he finally won with the FA Cup with Blackpool, inspiring them to fight 3-1 to beat Bolton Wanderers 4-3.
Three years later, Matthews became the first winner of the Ballon d’Or, a success made more remarkable for the fact that she was the age of 41.
Stoke signed Matthews for his second spell at the age of 46, and he played his last game in the football league on February 6, 1965, a 3-1 victory on Fulham who brought the curtain in a career that saw him become the only footballer to be a knight while playing.
