Many footballers have enjoyed lengthy and successful careers, but eventually, age catches up with them. So, who holds the title of the oldest football player in history?
Kazuyoshi Miura: The Oldest Football Player
Kazuyoshi Miura from Japan is recognized as the oldest football player worldwide, continuing to play actively in his late fifties. Born on February 26, 1967, Miura is affectionately known as “Kazu” or “King Kazu” due to his impressive skills and unique playing style. At 57 years old, Miura is the oldest professional football player ever recorded.
To provide some context, the oldest player in Premier League history is John Burridge, who set the record in May 1995 at the age of 43 while playing his final match for Manchester City—a record that still stands.
Oldest Football Players in the Premier League
| Rank | Player | Club | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thiago Silva | Chelsea | 39 |
| 2 | Lukasz Fabianski | West Ham | 38 |
| 3 | Ashley Young | Everton | 38 |
| 4 | James Milner | Brighton | 37 |
| 5 | Tim Ream | Fulham | 36 |
| 6 | Johnny Evans | Manchester United | 35 |
| 7 | Adam Lallana | Brighton | 35 |
| 8 | Angelo Ogbonna | West Ham | 35 |
| 9 | Willian | Fulham | 35 |
| 10 | Chris Basham | Sheffield United | 35 |
In the 2023/24 season, the oldest football player in the Premier League is Thiago Silva from Brazil, who is currently 39 years old, four years shy of Burridge’s record.
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Records in International Football
Marco Ballotta is the oldest football player to compete in the UEFA Champions League. He played for Lazio against Real Madrid in 2007 at the age of 43 years and 252 days.
Essam El-Hadary holds the record for the oldest football player to participate in the FIFA Men’s World Cup. Like Burridge, he was a goalkeeper, which can contribute to a longer career in professional sports. He was 45 years and 161 days old when he played for Egypt against Saudi Arabia on June 25, 2018, in the Volgograd Arena in Russia.
Kazuyoshi Miura is approaching his 60th birthday, highlighting his commitment, fitness, and passion for football, making him the oldest football player in the world.
Miura’s Football Journey
Miura plays as a forward for the Portuguese club União Desportiva Oliveirense, on loan from the J1 League’s Yokohama FC. His football career began in 1982 when he left high school after a short time and traveled alone to Brazil, hoping to become a professional player.
He achieved that goal, starting his career with Juventus’s youth team in Brazil. In 1986, Miura signed his first professional contract with Santos at the age of 15 and officially became a professional footballer.
Known as “King Kazu,” he made his international debut for Japan on September 26, 1990, against Bangladesh during the 1990 Asian Games. Miura was part of the unbeaten Japanese team that won the 1992 Asian Cup, defeating Saudi Arabia in the final. He scored fourteen goals during the qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, leading Japan to their first-ever World Cup finals. However, he was controversially left out of the squad for the tournament despite his strong goal-scoring record leading up to it.
In February 2000, Miura played for Japan again for the first time since his World Cup exclusion. He played his last match for the national team later that year, finishing with the second-most goals in Japan’s history, having scored 55 times in 89 international matches.
Miura’s Longevity and Achievements
Despite his impressive career, there are ten players who have more international caps than Miura, with eight of them surpassing 100 matches for Japan. He is one of three Japanese players to score over 50 goals for the national team, alongside Kunishige Kamamoto (75) and Shinji Okazaki (50). Miura’s international career ended in 2000 when he retired from national football.
Miura holds numerous longevity records because of his decades-long career. The oldest football player in any major league competition, he is recognized as the oldest goal scorer and continues to set records both on and off the field. The former Japanese striker is the oldest player to score in the J-League and the oldest football player to score in any professional match.
As he nears his 60th birthday, Miura remains the oldest professional footballer in the world, having had an unparalleled career spanning five decades, from the 1980s to the 2020s. He was also the first Japanese player to receive the IFFHS Asia’s Footballer of the Year award. Miura even participated in international futsal, representing Japan in the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Thailand. His loan at Oliveirense is set to end in June 2024, but Miura shows no signs of retiring from football anytime soon.
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