Modric, Pirlo, Zlatan, Benzema: 15 footballers that got better with age

Luka Modric has penned a new deal with Real Madrid that will take him into his 11th season with the club.

It really has been a titanic rise through European football from the Croatian, and an exceptional underdog story given his up-bringing in war-torn Yugoslavia.

Since leaving Tottenham for Madrid at the age of 26, he’s gone from strength-to-strength in the Spanish capital, even winning the Ballon d’Or in 2018.

He’s become part of a rare breed of player that has progressed with age, supplementing his tiring legs through enhanced footballing intellect.

But who else have we seen reach new heights once they had supposedly entered the latter stages of their career?

Well, quite a few top players actually.

Karim Benzema

Let’s start off with Modric’s teammate. The Frenchman spent many seasons selflessly sacrificing his own attacking returns to be an exceptional provider for the team’s great talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.

But when the Portuguese left in 2018, Benzema’s rise was stratospheric. His reputation in European football as one of the world’s finest operators has grown year-on-year, and it seems this season, after firing Madrid to the La Liga and a Champions League title with his 59 goal contributions, he will rightfully earn the Ballon d’Or.

Xabi Alonso

Another eloquent midfield orchestrator, Alonso’s career continued on an upward trajectory all the way through until his retirement.

Liverpool fans fondly remember the Spaniard after he spent five years as Steven Gerrard’s partner in the middle of the park between 2004-2009, winning the Champions League with the club in his first season.

He then made the switch to Real Madrid, where he won his second Champions League and established himself as one of the world’s