Professional soccer careers may be quite profitable, but they only last around eight years on average, with the average retirement age being 35 years old. All of the players on this list outlasted the typical career duration and played well into their forties. Some retired at 40, some went on to play further competitions such as the Olympics, while others continued to train with their national teams.
There are no official rules against playing soccer at an older age, but there are risks involved that need to be considered. Most major leagues have a 32-year-old limit for entry into their programs, but some smaller league teams will let more aged players play if the team feels like it can handle the additional workload.
Soccer isn't usually the first sport that comes to mind when you think about athletes who have pushed their bodies to the limit. Famous examples include Carl Lewis, John Carlos, and Bruce Jenner, all of whom won gold medals in the 1980 Moscow Olympics by breaking three of tennis's four existing world records. However, there are many other athletes who have kept playing at an older age than expected. Here are 10 players who showed that you don't have to be 30 or younger to play professional soccer:
10 Bert Trautmann
Bert Trautmann was a German footballer who played as a defender.
Soccer, or football as it is called across the world, is undoubtedly the most popular team sport in the world, and its players often have massive fan bases. Soccer is not a very fast game, and it's hard to score goals and win matches if you are over 36.
Most players begin their professional career at age 18, when they can sign a professional contract with a club. Usually, these contracts last for four years, but some clubs may choose to extend them up to seven years. After four years, a player has the opportunity to extend his contract for another year. If he does not do so, then he will be free to look for new opportunities.
The majority of professional players come from South America, especially Brazil, because of the huge demand for soccer there. However, Europe is growing faster than Brazil, and many young players there are looking for good jobs in order to support their families while they pursue their dreams of becoming champions on the soccer field.
Players usually make a lot of money by signing contracts with clubs, but they don't always get all that they expect. Sometimes, a club may lose money when they hire a player because they can't afford to pay him enough to keep him happy while they try to find ways to bring him down in price.
The average age of the world's finest players when they start at a professional soccer academy is around 14 years. Furthermore, the majority of golden ball winners were 15 years old when they joined their first professional soccer academy. The average age of these players when they made their debut with their national team was about 17 years.
The most successful players have been young. Since the turn of the century, only three players over 23 have won the Champions League: Zidane (25), Ronaldo (27) and Mbappe (18). And two of them are French!
Among the other major European leagues, only in England do players tend to break into the professional game later in life. The Premier League is by far the most popular league in England and plays in Europe each season. It is known for its quality of football and the intense competition between teams from all over the world.
In fact, only 11% of players in the Premier League are under 21 years old. This is because many clubs in England believe that youth players will grow up together and be able to play alongside each other from an early age. That is why most top English schools will already have boys' teams by the time they get to secondary school (between the ages of 12 and 13).
However, because soccer is a sport that demands progression through many levels, becoming a professional player after the age of 23 is often too late. Soccer is one of those sports that you can't play well after a certain age. You have to keep developing yourself as a player to remain effective.
The average age of a professional soccer player is 28. According to ESPN, only about 1 in 10,000 teenagers in the U.S. becomes an elite professional soccer player. The reason why so few young people become professional players is because it takes a lot of time and effort to reach the top level. In addition, most youth soccer programs do not have enough money to pay their players; therefore, they must depend on school scholarships or work opportunities outside of soccer.
Some older players continue to play at higher levels of competition. For example, there are many senior men's soccer teams around the world. These older players use their experience to help younger players improve their games.
There are also some younger players who continue to develop their skills by playing in college or in amateur leagues. These players get training from coaches who know what it takes to be successful at this sport.
At the end of the day, it takes a lot of hard work to become a professional soccer player.
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