7 ex-LaLiga footballers you didn't know were still playing
A few weeks back many of us were surprised to see that Dani Güiza is still an active footballer at the age of 42 after signing for CD Rota, a club that plays in Tercera RFEF (the Spanish 5th tier). Although what really caught people’s attention was his deteriorated physical condition, rather than his long-lived career.
But like Güiza, there are surely other ex-LaLiga players you’ve probably lost track of and aren’t aware they’re still active. So let’s take a look at some veterans that are, unexpectedly, still playing football.
Borja Valero
Despite announcing his retirement from professional football in the summer of 2021, Valero reverted his decision just a couple of months later to play in the Italian 6th division, for CS Lebowski.
The club was created by a group of Fiorentina fans, and as you may have guessed, the team name is indeed inspired by the movie ‘The Big Lebowski’.
Valero explained he didn’t want to retire and that offers from LaLiga were on the table, but he only wanted to play for Fiorentina. CS Lebowski was the closest to that and it also gave him the chance to connect with the local community.
His days playing for Mallorca and Villarreal are long gone, but at the age of 38 his magic is still hypnotising a lucky few.
Roque Santa Cruz
The Paraguayan striker played in LaLiga for two Andalusian sides: Real Betis and Málaga CF. The second club being where he enjoyed up to four seasons and some incredible moments, as Málaga made it all the way to the Quarter-finals of the Champions League back in the 2012/2013 season.
After his third year at Málaga, Santa Cruz moved to México but was then loaned back to the Andalusian side before making a move to Paraguay, where he first played for Olimpia and is now at Libertad, both clubs from his hometown. Libertad is currently leading the competition which recently kicked off.
Ricardo Oliveira
With 122 matches and 58 goals, Oliveira gathered plenty of LaLiga experience since his debut with Valencia CF just under two decades ago. He then went on to play for Real Betis in two separate occasions and also for Real Zaragoza.
Ever since he left Spain his career took him to the United Arab Emirates and Brazil, where he currently plays. In fact, Oliveira just signed for a new team this past month of January at the age of 42.
He’ll be providing his expertise to Brasília FC to fight for the Campeonato Brasiliense; the football league of the Federal District within the Brazilian states football championships (not to be confused with the Campeonato Brasileiro).
Chory Castro
With almost 300 league games in Spain’s top tier, Chory Castro made a name for himself while playing for RCD Mallorca, Real Sociedad and Málaga.
But after his time was up in LaLiga he didn’t travel all over the world playing for many clubs, instead he returned home to Uruguay.
His first stop was Nacional, where local legend Luis Suárez recently played, and then he moved on to Atlético River Plate de Montevideo, where he remains at the age of 38.
Emmanuel Adebayor
He briefly stopped by LaLiga for 14 matches and 5 goals as a Real Madrid players. Including another 8 participations between the Champions League and the Copa del Rey where he got 3 more goals.
A charismatic player who never fully convinced, but who kept on doing his thing in the Premier League, to then move to Turkey. He even had a short stint in Paraguay, but is now back home in Togo playing for AC Semassi FC at the age of 38.
Nenê
The Brazilian attacking midfielder played for RCD Mallorca, RCD Espanyol, Celta de Vigo and Deportivo Alavés. It’s been over 10 years since he left LaLiga, yet he’s still active.
Despite being 41, Nenê still plays at the highest level in Brazil for Vasco da Gama who are in the top flight. He’s not a recurrent starter but still gets playing time and even scored in a recent game of the Taça Guanabara.
A goal which made him the oldest player to ever score for the club, overtaking Brazilian legend, Romário.
Royston Drenthe
He was supposed to be a superstar in the making for Real Madrid, yet he never fulfilled expectations. Despite that he took part in 63 matches in LaLiga, mostly for ‘los blancos’ but also for Hércules CF. In fact he’d never play as many games in any other professional league as he did here in Spain.
Drenthe would then go on to pack his suitcase every season for the following 11 years, until landing back in Spain in 2022 where he signed for Racing Murcia. Real Murcia followed and now he’s currently at Racing Mérida in the 6th tier of Spanish football… and he’s still only 35!