Will these guys retire and give youth a chance?

....I mean how long can these guys actually go on for?

I will admit that they are still useful but some complain because they dont always get 1st team football (when I say some I mean Ronaldo lol).

I still have Messi and he's 33 but still going strong.

Anyone else find that some players just try to play as long as possible?

I heard someone oh here say there was a certain stat which determined how long they played for. Maybe a combo between natural fitness and professionalism (hidden) but dont quote me on that. Its probably wrong.

to say how old those guys are some of their physical stats are still pretty good. I also got Sergio Ramos (34) Messi (33) and Guardado (33).

Something tells me that they could go on for a while. Also got Fabregas (33) and still world class

In my Spain national game Casillas is still numero uno at age 38 .

In my Spain national game Casillas is still numero uno at age 38 .

It was the same with Buffon, I thought he'd get to 40 but retired at 39 or 38 not sure still as italy's no 1.

just checked Casillas and hes still no 1 at 39!

Casillas, Buffon, Gerrard, Lampard, Vidic, Ferdinand all still playing at 38. Quite embarassing really. I took over England in about 2012 and immediately revamped the entire squad with new faces!

Just noticed Wayne Rooney still going strong for Man Utd and England at 34 (35 in a months time)

Id still play torres at that age with those stats lol, but he hasnt decreased as much on mine im glad to say and hes almost the exact same age.

Biggest problem with the game imo. Took it too far from 08 and now stats don't go down fast enough in most cases. I think it leads to AI teams not investing in youth making any sort of long term game way too easy a few years in. Beckham in my game is now plying his trade at 38 with none other than the sunderland reserves. Can anyone actually imagine that happening?

While in reality there are cases of World Class players still going strong [and hogging the spotlight, so to speak] despite being 30+ I think FM09 takes the whole thing way too far.

29-30 years old players can still be sold for like £ 15-20M despite just having 1-2 good years in them. Or so it should be in reality.

And even players aged 30+ hold an insanely high level of performance, and thanks to thier worldwide reputation they're still playing in Top Teams, thus making the game resemble a Senior Championship.

All of that makes the life of the human manager way too easy. Basically I can sell my Top Stars when they're approaching their 30s, still for good money, and reinvesting the income on younger stars, who'll usually be cheaper.

So the equation works on two levels: money for old players who'll go "dying" in rival teams, weakening them.

I think this has to be fixed in FM2010.

In my game Lucio is with 38 years in Bayern and still first team player, some players just stay too long,

like Maldini

FM09 probably does go slightly too far but I suspect in RL as we progress we'll see more & more footballers playing into their late 30s so this situation could occur in 10 years time.

Id still play torres at that age with those stats lol, but he hasnt decreased as much on mine im glad to say and hes almost the exact same age.

I do still play him and the others but mostly as a super sub or backup. De Rossi still gets a few games because despite his pace is still a good midfielder.

Ronaldo is still good as you can tell but i do have better newgens playing for me, i still think he'd walk into most teams though

Mmm de rossi retired at 35 on my game

Well you posted pictures from Milan players. They are known to like pensioners in their club.

The problem is not that the player stats are not decreasing fast enough. Sure, IRL they lose some of their physical strength when they get older but are still great players even for top teams. What should happen IMO is that some players would announce retirement, some would join some smaller rich club for lots of money (just look at all the arabian clubs), and some should return to their home team and play for peanuts. This happens a lot in real life and should be part of FM IMO.

Figo just won serie A at 36

Maldini won CL at 38/39

Costacurta CL winner at 41

imo the physical stats in FM go down too much and too uniformally, Maldini at 36 was hardly if any different to Maldini at 26. Footballers will go on much longer in general nowadays, and its good the game recognizes this.

Stan Matthews played till 55!

FM09 probably does go slightly too far but I suspect in RL as we progress we'll see more & more footballers playing into their late 30s so this situation could occur in 10 years time.

Exactly, I hope SI don't change it too much as FM08 was terrible for older players. Just a tiny adjustment and it should be fine, Im sure as you said, in the future players will be able to still keep at it in their latter years.

The problem is not that the player stats are not decreasing fast enough. Sure, IRL they lose some of their physical strength when they get older but are still great players even for top teams. What should happen IMO is that some players would announce retirement, some would join some smaller rich club for lots of money (just look at all the arabian clubs), and some should return to their home team and play for peanuts. This happens a lot in real life and should be part of FM IMO.

i agree if it worked like this it would be alot better

David James still going strong at the age of 42 on my chelsea save. Thought id snap him up ona free to see if he turns out to be a GK coach.

Figo just won serie A at 36

Maldini won CL at 38/39

Costacurta CL winner at 41

But Figo and Maldini weren't first team regulars anymore. More like "luxury backup". Costacurta was just kinda kept there out of gratitude, so he didn't really contribute to the success of the team.

imo the physical stats in FM go down too much and too uniformally, Maldini at 36 was hardly if any different to Maldini at 26. Footballers will go on much longer in general nowadays, and its good the game recognizes this.

Sorry, but Maldini had been living off his name and past for like the last 5-6 years... He was among the best fullbacks in the world, but it's been a LONG LONG time ago. Then it was all "namepower".

And the game goes actually too far with that Namepower effect. Old geezers are still going strong because IRL a 30+ former star will get more chances and better press than a younger and relatively unproven guy.

Stan Matthews played till 55!

Different times... you can't compare the career of a man who began playing the year before Hitler took power with current players.

There are so many different things you can barely tell it's about the same game...

The problem is not that the player stats are not decreasing fast enough. Sure, IRL they lose some of their physical strength when they get older but are still great players even for top teams. What should happen IMO is that some players would announce retirement, some would join some smaller rich club for lots of money (just look at all the arabian clubs), and some should return to their home team and play for peanuts. This happens a lot in real life and should be part of FM IMO.

I think that if player in that age (34-38) will get enough playing time as these lads obviously still get, their technical and mental skills are not suppose to drop. Technique has nothing to do with age, same with mental skills, perhaps concentration and aggression and work rate should drop, but due to experience their teamwork and anticipation should be on top level.

Problem accurs with physical skills and not because physical skills are not dropping (because they are) but because those players can still perform on top level in FM although they are not so fast and strong any more. Of course, when you are manager yourself, you can build your tactics so that your MC doesn't need to be very fast, playmaking, passing, creativity are more important etc. but IRL top clubs like AC Milan usually replace those oldies with younger players that can really run.

Sure, there are exceptions, like Ryan Giggs, but if you have noticed then IRL Ferguson picks fairly carefully his squad and always thinks against who should Giggs or Scholes play, so when opposition demands physically better player than him, then Giggs won't be in first 11, but can come off from bench in the 2nd half perhaps.

It's a big flaw in this FM.I'm in 2015 and you can still see Erik Edman,Boyce and Bramble starting for Wigan.Same with Faubert and Barry at Villa.

There are instances of Beckham playing on into his forties, think yourself lucky chappy! I think it's nice that some of the great players can play on into their late thirties but if it's happening with the likes of Titus Shambles then that's not quite right in my eyes.

I have a young world class regen MC with a CA of 193, age 20, average rating always above 7.0, and a reputation of "Worldwide", and he wasn't picked for England for the Euro Championships. Instead they're running around with a bunch of 35 year olds.

This is sort of strange to say the least.

They stats are top notch though how do they play?

Ballack won Champions League best player award in 2014 for Bayern. I guess it does depend on their natural fitness and some hidden attributes. The annoying thing is, these older players complaining abt lack of games even when their stats are down to 1s and 2s :X

Look at real life and you'll see 35+ year olds dont have the legs to play top football. They can be used as luxuries by rich enough teams, but do not improve teams. FM08 was closer to real life than 09 and 08 was nowhere near close. Not a good balance by SI (intentional????).