Age gap of top-tier professional football players is widening in 2022

The recent advances in Nutritional Science and Supplementation and Sports Science have had a tangible influence on the longevity of elite athletes’ careers. Typically footballers’ performance is expected to decline in the latter years of their careers. That has definitely not been the case with some of the most renowned current names in world football. Only three active players have won the Ballon d’Or: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Luka Modric, all of whom are above the age of 35. Karim Benzema who turns 35 in December was awarded the best player in the Champions League last season and is very certain to be the next recipient of the most coveted individual football accolade.
At the same point in their careers, prominent members of the previous generation were not having it as good. Zinedine Zidane had retired, Ronaldinho had no team while Xavi was performing in Qatar.
On Another Note
This Sunday – 18th of September, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta introduced youngster Ethan Nwaneri late in the stoppage time of the already decided match against Brentford, with the Gunners comfortably leading 0:3. So far, nothing out of the ordinary, but the entrance of Nwaneri broke a number of records. He became the youngest footballer to play in a professional game at 15 years and 181 days of age, not just in the Premier League era, but in the whole history of the English top tier.
This widening of the age gap of professional football players to way over 20 years prompted the team at SportingPedia to examine the average ages of the 98 teams in Europe’s top five leagues, as well as the youngest and oldest players utilised this season. We used data from The Football Observatory to conduct this research.
Several records in European football have been broken in recent days. Last Wednesday, Luka Modric became Real Madrid’s oldest player in a Champions League game since 1965. Then, on Thursday, Joaquin scored for Betis in a Europa League match, becoming the competition’s oldest player to do so. Last but not least, Ethan Nwaneri was introduced late against Brentford on Sunday, becoming the youngest player in the top English level at 15 years and 181 days. The youngest and oldest footballers to have performed this season in the five different leagues.