30 years old and up - 5 greatest players of all time?

MrEleson said:

It’s difficult to compare players from past eras to the modern age considering Puskas looked like this when he was playing as a post 30 year old player:

https://www.google.com/search?q=pus...YI_enGB707GB707&hl=en-US#imgrc=Se4WAkM38Cft_M

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Not really. He was clearly overweight, and it wasn't the norm even then, but this image was taken way past his retirement.

nobby the legend said:

Stanley Matthews...Known as 'The Wizard of Dribble', Sir Stan's professional career covered some 33 years. When he retired in 1965, aged 50, he had made nearly 700 League appearances for Stoke City and Blackpool

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Good shout. I've just watched his farewell game (sadly, only the second half is available) and he gave Schnellinger, a left back that got placed 12th in the Ballon d'Or vote that year, quite a runaround. Aged 50! (Well, that was a few days before he turned 50, but who cares).

He also won the first ever Ballon d'Or in 1956. Aged 41!

Swoobs said:

Out of curiosity, for RM fans, who is the number 1 legend for you? Di Stefano, CR7 or Puskus?

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Not a Madrid fan, obviously, but Di Stéfano should always be their #1 legend (if not the best player). Not only because he was a awesome, but because of the impact he, and Santiago Bernabéu, had on the club's fortunes and standing in the game. For reference, here are the number of league titles the prominent Spanish clubs had won before his arrival (alphabetical order):

• Atlético Madrid/Aviación: 4
• Athletic Club: 5
• Barcelona: 6
• Real Betis: 1
• Real Madrid: 2
• Sevilla: 1
• Valencia: 2

And here's where Madrid stood when he left them:

• Atlético Madrid: 4
• Athletic Club: 6
• Barcelona: 8
• Real Betis: 1
• Real Madrid: 10
• Sevilla: 1
• Valencia: 2

Objective of establishing them as the most successful team in the league fulfilled (even though Barcelona weren't exactly mugs and had great players like Suárez, Kubala, Segarra, Kocsis, Czibor, Evaristo). Objective of establishing them as the team of the European Cup, and thereby the entire continent, also fulfilled. As well as the objective of making them a financial powerhouse, a club with good organisation and a lucrative destination for the biggest names around, which was Bernabéu's dream — in that sense, Di Stéfano was the first real foreign Galáctico...the genesis, with illustrious names like Kopa, Puskás, Didi (ill-fated stint notwithstanding), Santamaría joining him in the coming years. He and Bernabéu (who almost singlehandedly resurrected the club and turned it into a colossus) should always be at the #1 place. Without Cristiano you could have a situation where Barcelona are dangerously close to Madrid's European Cup hall while working on league success — but without The Don, Madrid could have been left in the dust from the 1950s itself, with Barcelona having the potential to build a near insurmountable lead on several fronts.

Swoobs said:

Qualifying for the European Cups were far more difficult in those days. Putting it into context, Ronaldo would only win 1 of those 3 UCLs if we apply the same qualification standards because Real could not participate in 2 of them.

Di Stefano dominated both domestically and in the european cups, and that is why Di Stefano > CR7 for me.

Out of curiosity, for RM fans, who is the number 1 legend for you? Di Stefano, CR7 or Puskus?

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Puskas was always second best to Di Stefano during their time in Madrid. The latter stands a bit higher in your usual all-time list, but it's actually very close between them — but Puskas' peak was in the early-to-mid 50's, with Honved and Hungary.