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Long ago in the world of sports, it was a belief set in stone that once an athlete goes past 30, their prowess dwindles and a period of steady decline begins which only ends in retirement.
Though, is still a fact of life for all sportspersons (look at the dramatic fall in value of current Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic!), the advancement of sports medicine and better care of one's body and diet mean that many footballers, like to go on playing at the peak of the game well into their 30s.
The two best contemporary footballers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, are well past the mark, and still going strong.
They are not the only examples. In this article we will look at the top five midfielders who are still dominating the sport.
5 best midfielders in the world over 30
#5 Luka Modric - Real Madrid (34 years)
Luka Modric can already be counted as a contemporary legend of the game. The only footballer to have broken the Ballon' D'Or duopoly of Ronaldo and Messi in the last 12 years, the Real Madrid midfielder won the prestigious award in 2018 following his annus mirabilis as a footballer.
The 34-year-old deep lying playmaker won the Champions League for the third time that season and, more importantly, captained his nation, Croatia, to a dream World Cup final where they lost to France. Modric's maturity, vision and leadership led to him also being awarded the Golden Ball in Russia. Add to that his amazing growing-up story in war-torn Croatia and you have a truly legendary tale to tell.
Modric has won all possible laurels as a Los Blancos player and his wizardry has been hailed as one of the reasons behind Real Madrid's tremendous success on the European stage.
Though there were suspicions that his abilities have declined post the highs of 2017-18, the midfielder continues to prove critics and his detractors wrong, still going strong for Real as he won a Golden Foot while his club recaptured the Spanish League.
#4 Santi Cazorla - Villarreal / Al Sadd (35 years)
At 35, Santi Cazorla seems to be a gift to the world of football that keeps on giving. It seems yesterday, but was actually way back in 2012-13 season, that the Spanish midfielder moved to Arsenal to become a key part of Arsene Wenger's side. He won two FA Cups during his time at Arsenal where he endeared himself to the Gunners' faithful, but his last two seasons were blighted by injuries.
The versatile midfielder moved back to his spiritual home Villareal and again proved age is just a number, notching up 15 goals and 11 assists in his final bow for the Yellow Submarines before moving to Qatar.
Cazorla has shown his quality wherever he plays, most importantly being part of two European Championship-winning squads when Spain had the best midfielders in the world and the tikitaka Sun was well and truly shining.
#3 Jordan Henderson - Liverpool (30 years)
Jordan Henderson must have by now developed the thickest skin possible for a footballer. The midfielder had the best possible season as Liverpool captain last time as he led his club to the Promised Land after dethroning Manchester City to win the Premier league and was also named the PFA Player of the Year for his inspirational play at the heart of the Liverpool midfield.
This is where the criticism began. Henderson was way behind the assist and goals tally of Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City's star midfielder, and his detractors believed that the 30-year-old Reds midfielder only won because his club were the best team in England.
One must understand that Henderson performs a very different role from that of De Bruyne as a midfielder. Often fielded as a box-to-box or defensive presence or as a right-sided number 8, Henderson's primary job is to keep the ball moving in midfield and turnover possession as a defensive presence.
He might not possess the artistry or creative vision of a Modric, but the 30-year-old knows his job as a midfielder and captain of a star team and is doing it perfectly. He is already an England, Europe and World champion with Liverpool.
#2 Alejandro Dario (Papu) Gomez - Atalanta (32 years)
The Argentinian, Papu Gomez, is one of the contemporary success stories of this list, despite him being an Atalanta midfielder and playing regularly for the club since the 2014-15 season. As his team's stock rose, so did Gomez's with him being rated as one of the best midfielders in Europe by some this season.
Gomez has been part of the Atalanta revolution, leading them as captain to a historic third-place finish in the Serie A and to a quarterfinal spot in the Champions League last season. Gomez, a skillful, goalscoring midfielder is the main cog in Atalanta's irrepressible, dynamic, high-pressing, attacking football side and the 32-year-old netted eight times while assisting 18 goals across all competitions for the little big club from Bergamo.
He has been out of favour with the Argentina side since 2017. Time for a return to the national team's fold, maybe?
#1 Toni Kroos - Real Madrid (30 years)
Recently, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said it has been an honour for him to coach Toni Kroos. It's very high but very deserved praise for one of the best midfielders in the world, who has just got on to the wrong side of 30, but is showing no signs of slowing down.
Kroos is perhaps the most complete midfielder on this list, with a spectacular range of passing, vision, long-range shooting, ability to get goals and ability to play across various roles in midfield. Kroos does it all beautifully, aesthetically and with a typical German cool head and composure that is bound to engender envy in the best.
Kroos has almost already won every major team honour the game has to offer and, amazingly, moved to Real Madrid to be a part of the new-age Galacticos after having won the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League.
That is when his transcendence began as he was part of a Real team that Zidane took to new heights, especially in Europe. With Die Mannschaft, Kroos won the World Cup in 2014 where he again played a starring role despite being only 24.
He would probably have won a Ballon'D'Or by now had it not been for the aforementioned duopoly. Well, there is still time.
