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So who is the oldest premier league player right now? Some players have time and again proved that age doesn’t matter. These people have proved the age old saying ‘ Form is temporary, Class is permanent’ with their age and standard of playing. You might be thinking of a gentleman named Ryan Giggs who at the age of 40 plays with panache and flamboyance. But is he the oldest player in the Premier League right now?
That would be a 6ft 3inch goalkeeper – Brad Friedel. At the age of 42 he still packs a punch. While he may have lost his place in the team to a younger star – Hugo Lloris, this keeper would still make the first team of many a Premiership club. In November he played for Tottenham against Newcastle making him the oldest keeper in this Premiership season.
He has represent the United States of America for three world cup tournaments is the current holder of the Premier League record for most consecutive appearances with 310. In his glory days this tall keeper was a rock between the posts, he still is.
But is he the oldest ever football player to have played the English Premier League? Nope again. That honour would go to one Mr. John Burridge who at the age of 43 years and 162 days played for Manchester City against Queens Park Rangers on 14th May 2005. Overall, Burridge played 771 league games in the English and Scottish leagues. Burridge, played for fifteen Football League teams, which is a record that exists even to this day. He is also a goal keeper which makes us wonder whether goal keepers have longer careers than their counterparts. That is probably a question for another day. He has also managed Blyth Spartans as a player manager in 1997.
John Burridge
Many other players have proved that age cannot stop them. These people have defied critics and even their own beliefs in continuing to play in the highest level even in their forties. Take a bow people!
