Following Petr Cech’s registration in Chelsea’s 25-man Premier League squad, one can only hope it does not come to him donning the gloves! But regardless, it has given us an opportunity to look at the evergreen footballers who continued playing the game into their late 30s as well.
Here we take a look at every Premier League club’s oldest player to have played for them –
John Burridge – Manchester City
Currently plying his trade as a goalkeeping coach at Kerala Blasters, Burridge featured for Manchester City at the age of 43 years 162 days. He had a long career featuring for many English clubs and won a few amount of trophies.
Mark Schwarzer – Leicester City
The former Chelsea goalkeeper is quite the frequency on this list, considering he played for many PL clubs. Hailing from Australia, his last stint in professional football was with Leicester City, when they won the league in 2015/16.
Brad Freidel – Tottenham Hotspur
A retired American goalkeeper, Freidel was known to be a good shot-stopper during his peak. He famously featured for Tottenham Hotspur at the age of 42 years and 176 days.
Mark Schwarzer – Chelsea
Probably the best of his playing career came with the Blues, acting as the deputy to number 1 Petr Cech. Schwarzer was reliable behind the sticks and often produced some vital saves as well.
Jens Lehmann – Arsenal
Yet another keeper makes it to this list, with Jens Lehmann a fan favourite for many at Arsenal. He was voted UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year for the 1996–97 and 2005–06 seasons, and won a few league and cup titles with the Gunners.
Teddy Sheringham – West Ham United
One of England’s finest centre forwards and consistent at club level as well, Sheringham continued playing for West Ham until he was 40 years old. 2006/07 was his final season in the Premier League, with him moving to Colchester United later on.
Mark Schwarzer – Fulham
And here he is again, for yet another time in the list! It can be said that Schwarzer got his move to Chelsea, owing to the contributions he made at Craven Cottage. He made a total of 172 league appearances during his five seasons at Fulham FC.
Edwin Van Der Sar – Manchester United
Amidst their goalkeeping troubles, how United fans would like ‘VDS’ to come back from retirement and provide a reassuring presence at the back. The Dutch keeper spent seven years at the Red Devils, making 186 appearances in the process. He continued playing for United till he was around 40 years old.
Kevin Phillips – Crystal Palace
The centre forward featured for The Eagles a total of 4 times in 2013/14, and continued to play for Leicester in the Championship at the time. Playing till the time he was 40 years old, Phillips remains to this day the only Englishman to win the European Golden Shoe after securing a 30 goals season with Sunderland in the 1999/00 season.
Brad Freidel – Aston Villa
The American shot-stopper was a relatively late bloomer in football. Before making the move to Tottenham, he played 114 games for Aston Villa over four seasons. Featuring at the age of 40 years for the Birmingham-based club, Freidel was definitely one of the more experienced goalkeepers of his time.
Nigel Martyn – Everton
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Probably one of the lengthiest careers in the Premier League, Nigel Martyn was blessed to feature in England’s top-flight for about 20 years. Playing for Bristol Rovers, Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Everton, Martyn was forced to retire after a bad ankle injury in 2006.
Kelvin Davis – Southampton
A sprawling 10 year career with Southampton, saw Kelvin Davis feature for the Saints until he was 39 years old. In the process, Davis featured in more than 300 games for the club, and was also briefly caretaker manager after the sacking of former manager Mark Hughes in 2018.
Pavel Srnicek – Newcastle
Featuring at the age of 38 years and 290 days, Srnicek was a crucial cog in the wheel of Newcastle United’s prominence during the 1990s. Making over a 150 appearances for the club, he was the starter for Czech Republic during their 1996 UEFA Euros campaign, where they finished runners-up.
Dean Kiely – West Bromwich Albion
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Probably the ‘youngest’ goalkeeper on this list, West Brom had Dean Kiely in their ranks up until the 2011 season. Just short of 70 appearances for the Hawthorns club, Kiely also later worked as a goalkeeping coach in his post-playing career.
Bruno Saltor – Brighton
The recently retired right-back was a key figure in Brighton’s promotion to the Premier League. After spending 8 years at the club and making 225 appearances for the club, Bruno retired at the age of 38 years, with his final match coming against Manchester Ciy in the 2018/19 campaign.
Graham Alexander – Burnley
Graham Alexander was recently in the news, being sacked as the manager of Salford City. But during his playing career, he featured for Burnley in about 155 games for the club, playing at the ripe age of 38 years and 211 days.
Denis Irwin – Wolves
One of the very good left-backs in the 1990s, Denis Irwin was an expert set-piece specialist and majorly spent his career with Manchester United. At the age of 38 years, he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on a two-year deal which saw him make 75 appearances for the club and also score 2 goals during that time.
Gordon Strachan – Leeds United
Former Scotland national team manager Gordon Strachan was an impressive midfielder who occupied the flanks and was quite creative at times. During his time at Leeds, he played in 197 games and scored 37 goals. He remains to date Leeds’ oldest player who featured until the age of 38 years for the Whites.
Phil Jagielka – Sheffield United
Jagielka has been a long stay in the Premier League for some time now. Previously with Sunderland and Everton, he is now playing for Sheffield United – his boyhood club. Even at the age of 38, he puts in great defensive efforts and looks a very composed defender.
Gary McAllister – Liverpool
Working as assistant to Steven Gerrard at Rangers currently, Gary McAllister was an impact substitute who liked to score some wonderful goals. Interestingly, the Scottish midfielder got his dream move to a club like Liverpool at the age of 36 years and then spent two seasons with the Reds.
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