The 2026 World Cup will take place next year in North America, and the qualifying rounds have given us plenty of nostalgic moments with the two biggest legends in the history of this game, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, still racking up the goals.
Well past the age of 35, Cristiano and Messi remain two of the world’s finest players on the international stage, even as they have long past waved goodbye to the highest level of European football.
But there are a couple of other iconic players past the age of 35 who could be factors at the next World Cup but are still shining for powerhouse clubs in European football. How do they stack up with the two GOATs?
As the nations decide who is in and out of the 2026 World Cup, let’s take an early look and rank the top five players older than the age of 35 at this very moment in time.
5. Croatia LW Ivan Perisic
Although the 36-year-old Ivan Perisic isn’t as big of a name as the other players on this list, he’s been a key player of part of some of world football’s most legendary teams over the years.
Obviously, he was a star for the Croatia side that reached the 2018 World Cup Final, as well as the side that won third place in 2022. But you may have also forgotten that he was a rotational piece in Bayern Munich’s legendary 2019/10 Sextuple-winning squad, a starter for the Inter Milan team that won the 2020/21 Serie A title, and he was even part of the famous 2011/12 Dortmund team that won the domestic double over Bayern.
Nowadays, Perisic is busy winning Dutch Eredivisie titles for PSV Eindhoven, and even though he isn’t in a top five league, Perisic is still a standout player for a title-winning team at the Champions League level.
Last season, Perisic had nine goals and eight assists for PSV in league play with three goals in four Champions League games. This season, he’s already off to a fire start with four goal contributions in four games for PSV and even five goal contributions in three appearances for Croatia in the World Cup qualifying. This man is forever underrated.
4. Croatia CM Luka Modric
Meanwhile, nobody his underrated his Croatian teammate Luka Modric, who is so synonymous with moments of breath-taking brilliance that many fans refer to him as a “maestro” or “magician”.
Although Real Madrid realized it was time to part ways with him, the fact that Modric was a 39-year-old starting 17 games with 8 goal contributions as a box-to-box midfielder for the Royal Whites was absolutely insane.
In fact, Real didn’t part ways with him because he wasn’t any good any more, but rather because they needed to give younger players minutes in midfield and had to move on at some point.
Modric has landed at another legendary European club in AC Milan, albeit one that actually needs him as a crucial player since they missed out on European football last season and had a pretty shambolic midfield.
The Croatian magician – there it is – has been unsurprisingly magnificent for Milan and a clear step above his teammates in the middle of the park. That’s no surprise considering how great he was last season for Real Madrid, and the former Ballon d’Or winner is even better for his country.
3. Poland ST Robert Lewandowski
Out of all the players on this list, 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski is the only one still winning titles in a top five European league and competing for Champions League titles, as he scored a whopping 27 goals for Barcelona last season in his best campaign to date.
Reunited with Bayern Munich Sextuple-winning coach Hansi Flick, Lewandowski has fulfilled his destiny as a club legend for a second all-time European heavyweight, proving that his decision to leave Bavaria was the right one in the end.
Barcelona dominated La Liga last season, and their two league crowns in the last three years are heavily owed to Lewandowski, who remains one of the world’s deadliest finishers while returning to his roots as a well-rounded striker.
For Poland, Lewandowski is having to deal with an unideal situation, as Poland are yet another national team saddled with an unknown manager whose ego is ten-fold greater than his coaching skill. But if Poland can sneak into the World Cup, Lewandowski will, as per usual, be the biggest reason why. He already has two goals in four qualifying matches with a healthy 1.3 key passes per game.
2. Portugal FW Cristiano Ronaldo
It may seem a bit extreme to have Cristiano Ronaldo ranked higher than Luka Modric and Robert Lewandowski when they are still superstars in top five European leagues, but the decisions made by Cristiano and Lionel Messi to enjoy their football and collect a ton of money abroad aren’t necessarily indictments of their footballing ability.
Cristiano’s goal-scoring performances at the international level speak for themselves. He is still an exceptional athlete and goal-scorer, and when his Portuguese national teammates are in sync as a unit and actually creating chances, he is a matchwinner.
The notion that the Saudi Pro League is far below the other top European teams was disproven at the Club World Cup, as Al-Hilal showed that they can go toe-to-toe with anyone, outplaying Real Madrid in head-to-head competition.
Cristiano scored 25 goals in Saudi Arabia last season and 35 goals with 11 assists the season before. Portugal are a better team than Al-Nassr, and with eight goals in a Nations League-winning campaign last season and a brace in his first World Cup qualifying outing this season, the numbers back up the notion that Cristiano is still an elite goal-scorer at the age of 40.
1. Argentina FW Lionel Messi
Yet as amazing as Cristiano still is, Lionel Messi remains the best player in the world at the international stage until proven otherwise, because he was the superstar player for Argentina in recent World Cup and Copa America wins.
Right now, Argentina are the best team in the world and at the top of the mountain, and Messi is the main goal-scoring threat and the most talented playmaker on an otherwise rough-and-tumble team with only a couple of other true attacking stars, such as young Julian Alvarez.
Even though Messi faces much easier competition in MLS, the way he is carrying a washed-up Inter Miami squad of good old Barcelona friends is highly impressive, and the goals and assists he is producing in the United States would still be incredible in any league in the world.
Messi recently scored a brace for Argentina in a dominant win over Venezuela. He has 27 and 31 goal contributions in the last two league seasons, as well as a stunning eight goals and three assists in World Cup qualifying for Argentina.
In the 99th percentile in virtually every attacking statistic from goals and assists to take-ons, the 38-year-old Messi is still the king and has, if anything, saved his best play on the international stage for the final years of his legendary footballing career.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.