Footballers from the 90s still playing including Zlatan, Nakamura, Buffon & Miura | OneFootball

Zlatan Ibrahimovic turns 41 in October but the Swedish forward is poised to extend his illustrious career by signing a new one-year deal with AC Milan.

Per Fabrizio Romano, Zlatan’s contract extension will be announced imminently. He’ll earn between €1 million and €1.5 million net per season, plus add-ons depending on his performances.

Ibra scored eight goals in 27 games for Milan last season and helped the Rossoneri win their first Serie A title since his previous spell with the club back in 2011.

Some thought Zlatan would bow out after the high of adding another league title to his collection, but the man himself has other ideas – despite the fact he’s not expected to return to action until early 2023 after undergoing knee surgery.

The legendary striker is one of only a handful of footballers who made their debuts in the 1990s to still be playing.

Which footballers from the 1990s are still playing?

Let’s take a look at the list in full:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (40)

Year of professional debut: 1999

As we’ve already discussed him, we’ll start with Zlatan, one of the most charismatic footballers in history.

“I want to play as long as I can,” he told UEFA.com earlier this year. “The reality is I’ll play until I see that someone is better than me, so I’m still playing. The future is yet to be written.”

You have to admire a) the confidence he has in his own ability, and b) his love for the beautiful game.

Football will miss him when he eventually does retire.

Gianluigi Buffon (44)

Year of professional debut: 1995

Another veteran who seemingly can’t face the idea of hanging up his boots is the legendary Gianluigi Buffon.

One of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, the Italian returned to boyhood club Parma in 2021 and currently competes in Serie B.

Back in March, Buffon insisted that he still hasn’t set a potential retirement date, telling reporters: “As long as I perform like this, as long as I’m fine and I have enthusiasm and goals, I will play.

“Then when one of these components is missing I will leave without problems.”

Roque Santa Cruz (40)

Year of professional debut: 1997

Remember Roque Santa Cruz? Of course you do.

The striker – best remembered for his spells at Bayern Munich, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City – turns 41 next month and now plays for Club Libertad in the top flight of his native Paraguay.

Before that, Santa Cruz spent five years with Olimpia and won multiple league titles and the Copa Paraguay, scoring 75 goals in 178 appearances in the process. Impressive!

Milan Baros (40)

Year of professional debut: 1998

Okay, so Milan Baros is no longer playing professionally, but the former Liverpool striker *is* still playing football with hometown club FK Vigantice in the Czech sixth division.

Couldn’t leave him out, could we?

The Euro 2004 Golden Boot winner still looks in very decent nick, too.

Shunsuke Nakamura (44)

Year of professional debut: 1997

Free-kick specialist Shunsuke Nakamura, who starred for Celtic between 2005-2009, turned 44 in June but is still playing professionally for Yokohama FC in Japan’s second tier.

The midfielder called time on his international career in 2010, after making 98 appearances for Japan, but is still going strong at club level 12 years later.

Here he is a couple of years ago hitting 15 targets in 100 seconds. That left foot will forever be a wand.

Kazuyoshi Miura (55)

Year of professional debut: 1986

Yes, you read the correctly. There’s a 55-year-old footballer called Kazuyoshi Miura who made his pro debut in 1986 and is still playing in 2022. Incredible scenes.

The world’s oldest professional footballer began his career with Brazilian side Santos but has spent the vast majority of his career in Japan.

He scored 55 goals in 89 appearances for the Japanese national team and also made a few appearances for his country’s futsal team in 2012.

Since 2005, Miura has plied his trade with Yokohama FC. He joined fourth-tier Suzuka Point Getters, who are managed by his 57-year-old brother Yasutoshi, earlier this year.

Let’s take a moment to salute Miura and the other five footballing heroes on this list.