20 over 30s Who Have One More Big Transfer in Them

Allan JiangJul 3, 2015

Here are 20 footballers 30 years or older who could be a transfer target for a big club in the future.

Please note the following: The players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Franck Ribery and Pablo Zabaleta will be subjectively ranked via most recent form, upside and potential resell value.

Long-List Cuts

French goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, 30, Marseille.
Italian central midfielder Marco Parolo, 30, Lazio.
Brazilian left-back Maxwell, 33, Paris Saint-Germain.
German centre-forward Stefan Kiessling, 31, Bayer Leverkusen.
Dutch central attacking midfielder Wesley Sneijder, 31, Galatasaray.

20. Raffael (Borussia Monchengladbach)

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Borussia Monchengladbach's Brazilian centre-forward Raffael, 30, is better than the picture painted by his statistics.

He scored 12 goals and provided two assists in 31 Bundesliga games, which are good numbers, but not elite.

He is not a conventional No. 9.

He drops into midfield to receive the ball, he is integral in building up play and he drags opposing defenders out of position with his quick feet.

19. Gonzalo Rodriguez (Fiorentina)

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Fiorentina's Argentinian centre-back Gonzalo Rodriguez, 31, throws himself into aerial contests and is a penalty-taker.

This is why Rodriguez has scored 17 goals in the last three Serie A seasons.

On the ball, Rodriguez links defence with midfield by completing 82.5 per cent of his 52.2 passes per game.

18. Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City)

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Manchester City's Argentinian right-back Pablo Zabaleta, 30, played a role in ensuring Micah Richards' progress stagnated.

It is a testament to how hard Zabaleta, once an unheralded footballer, has worked to reach the top.

Zabaleta is dependable and provides leadership at the back. He accumulated 106 tackles and intercepted 57 passes in 29 Premier League games last season.

17. Xabi Alonso (Bayern Munich)

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Bayern Munich's Spanish central midfielder Xabi Alonso, 33, is still a classy operator in possession.

He functioned as a deep-lying playmaker completing 90.2 per cent of his 105.5 passes per Bundesliga game last season.

Adding Alonso will bolster the midfield depth of any team.

16. Christophe Jallet (Lyon)

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Lyon's French right-back Christophe Jallet, 31, is generally always in the background.

Despite having a distinguished career thus far, he is a quiet achiever. He is often excluded from conversations regarding top defenders.

Post-Paris Saint-Germain, Jallet continues to work hard.

This was evident with a superlative 2014-15 campaign, where he won back possession 5.5 times per game (3.3 tackles, 2.2 interceptions per game).

15. Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)

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Chelsea's Serbian right-back Branislav Ivanovic, 31, continues to look over his shoulder knowing one bad season could end his career at Stamford Bridge.

Ivanovic's replacement, Cesar Azpilicueta, is filling in at left-back.

Defensively, Ivanovic is prone to positional miscues. Yet his attacking ability has substantially increased, scoring four goals and providing five assists last season.

14. Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)

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Juventus' Italian centre-back Giorgio Chiellini, 30, isn't a sure thing to finish his career in a Bianconeri shirt.

Alessandro Del Piero and Antonio Cabrini didn't.

Chiellini can organise a defence, whether it is a three-man defence or a back four, and is a resolute ball-winner.

13. Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)

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Bayern Munich's French left-winger Franck Ribery, 32, is one of the best footballers in the world when fully-fit.

But his body is breaking down to the extent that he can't even play out an entire campaign.

He only featured in 15 Bundesliga games last season. If Bayern Munich move on, perhaps a top club could sign Ribery on a pay-per-play contract.

12. Leighton Baines (Everton)

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Everton's English left-back Leighton Baines, 30, is one of the best creative defenders in the Premier League.

Baines registered nine assists and produced 70 goalscoring chances for his team-mates.

Luke Garbutt is the long-term successor to Baines.

11. Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City)

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Swansea City's Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, 30, deserves another shot at a big club.

He pulled off some outstanding saves and has rebounded after not living up to expectations at Arsenal.

He accumulated 137 saves in 37 Premier League games last season for Swansea City.

10. Dani Alves (Barcelona)

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Barcelona's Brazilian right-back Dani Alves, 32, proved he is not over the hill.

Playing for a new contract (which he later received), Alves threw himself into tackles and charged forward as if he was 10 years younger.

If Alves can play with the same determination, he could still find himself on the squad list of a top club.

9. Naldo (Wolfsburg)

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Wolfsburg's Brazilian centre-back Naldo, 32, remained resilient amid changing centre-back partners.

Robin Knoche, a gifted young defender, struggled throughout the season. Timm Klose, a backup, adjusted to an extended starting run.

Naldo was a presence at both ends: intercepting 3.7 passes per game and scoring seven goals.

8. Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)

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Bayern Munich's German central midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, 30, stays instead of leaving in an ideal world.

The imperative phrase being ideal world.

It would be a significant risk for Schweinsteiger to leave Bayern Munich for a new league because he has durability concerns.

Schweinsteiger should be given a free role, as burdening him with defensive responsibilities increases the likelihood of another injury.

7. Yaya Toure (Manchester City)

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Manchester City's Ivorian central midfielder Yaya Toure, 32, should be converted into a No. 9 or a No. 10.

He is a liability as a central midfielder because he doesn't track back, he isn't a prolific tackler (one tackle per game) and his positional awareness is at times non-existent.

There is a sizeable gap between what he offers going forward (10 goals, one assist in 29 Premier League games) than what he offers shielding the defence (almost nothing).

6. Alexander Meier (Eintracht Frankfurt)

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Eintracht Frankfurt's German centre-forward Alexander Meier, 32, topped the Bundesliga scoring charts with 19 goals.

What makes his achievement incredible is he missed eight games.

He provides an immense physical presence, and he capitalises when chances arrive.

He is able to work with less, relying on Haris Seferovic (who is on the rebound), Marc Stendera (big talent, but not a star yet) and Takashi Inui (Bundesliga-standard talent).

How many goals would Meier score if he played for Wolfsburg?

5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain)

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Paris Saint-Germain's Swedish centre-forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 33, has a physical advantage over most defenders.

He combines his physical prowess with being one of the most technically skilled players in the game. This is why he is a world-class footballer.

He scores, creates and is a showman. Last season, Ibrahimovic scored 19 goals and provided six assists in 24 Ligue 1 games.

Provided that he can avoid injuries and suspensions, he will continue to be a target for top clubs.

4. Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)

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Bayern Munich's Dutch right-forward Arjen Robben, 31, was on pace to challenge Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi last season.

Robben scored 17 goals and provided seven assists in 21 Bundesliga games, numbers that were still disrupted by his injuries.

Drifting in from the right, zipping past the opposing defender and shooting on target is predictable but at times an unstoppable go-to move for Robben.

He would be worth a gamble.

3. Santi Cazorla (Arsenal)

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Arsenal's Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla, 30, is a complete footballer.

He is two-footed, he is a passing outlet, he can play as a No. 6, No. 8 or No. 10, and he is a dual-threat to score or create.

His total goals output last season was 18 (seven goals, 11 assists).

He would dominate if he returned to La Liga.

2. Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain)

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Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian centre-back Thiago Silva, 30, reads play excellently and is a safe tackler.

He averaged 2.5 tackles and 2.9 interceptions while only conceding 0.5 fouls per Ligue 1 game last season. Excluding several defensive miscues, Silva is still world-class.

The issue Silva has is Paris Saint-Germain could, hypothetically speaking, consider signing Aymeric Laporte or Raphael Varane (maybe even both) in the future.

Both are French and have higher upside than Silva.