Since its inception in 1992, the Premier League has seen some real stars. Here, Ladbrokes looks through the 10 oldest players in Premier League history.
Featuring nine goalkeepers and a solitary striker, this list is a place for the veterans of the top flight to really get their credit, with the youngest player here clocking in at 40 years old.
So without further ado, let's meet the Premier League's oldest ever players.
The oldest players in Premier League history
10. Edwin van der Sar (40 years and 205 days)
We're kicking off the countdown with a four-time Premier League winner in the form of Edwin van der Sar, a man who deservedly features in our list of the best Premier League goalkeepers of all time.
When the Dutchman played for Manchester United in his 313th and final appearance in the English top flight, he saw his side to a victory over Blackpool and signed off by lifting the Premier League title for the fourth time in five years, cementing his place among the league's greats.
The legendary 'keeper is the oldest player to ever win the Premier League, and set a record in the 2008/09 season by not conceding a goal for 1,311 minutes - a record that still stands today. So with ability like that, it's no wonder he was still performing at the very top level when he was 40 years old.
The only outfield player in the top 10, Teddy Sheringham ended his 418-game PL career back in 2006 as the oldest Premier League goalscorer - a record he claimed just four days before his final appearance when he found the net for West Ham against his former side Portsmouth.
With 146 PL goals to his name, Sheringham still sits comfortably within the top 15 Premier League goalscorers of all time, and also became the oldest Englishman to score in a Champions League final when he found the net in that famous 1999 comeback for Man United against Bayern Munich.
One of only four outfielders to play Premier League football in their 40s, Sheringham won the league in three consecutive seasons between 1999 and 2001, and even won the PFA Player of the Year Award in his final year at Old Trafford.
8. Jens Lehmann (41 years and 151 days)
Jens Lehmann was Arsenal's number one for four seasons between 2003 and 2007, before making his 148th and final Premier League appearance as an emergency goalkeeper in 2011 - almost a year after he had actually announced his retirement from football.
Of course, the 2003/04 season is the standout for Lehmann, playing every game in Arsenal's unbeaten Premier League title-winning campaign, as the Gunners conceded just 26 goals all season and achieved what no team has managed since. He was known to be slightly reckless, with the German picking up eight yellow cards across the 2006/07 season - a record for goalkeepers in a PL season.
Coincidentally, the final goal Lehmann ever conceded in the Premier League was scored by Gary Taylor-Fletcher, the same man who scored the last goal ever to be conceded by Edwin van der Sar.
7. Kevin Poole (41 years and 164 days)
The first of a few less familiar players in this list, Kevin Poole made his final Premier League appearance on New Year's Day in 2005, almost three years after his most recent start in the top flight.
The 41-year-old 'keeper conceded with the first shot on target as Bolton fell behind to West Brom, but a late equaliser from El-Hadji Diouf meant Poole finished his 48-game Premier League career with a 1-1 draw.
Poole was actually the third-choice goalkeeper for Aston Villa when they won the European Cup in 1982, and had a career spanning from 1981 all the way to 2014, when he retired as a 48-year-old having helped Burton Albion reach League Two.
6. Neville Southall (41 years and 178 days)
Beating Kevin Poole's age by just two weeks, Neville Southall comes next in the list for his unexpected appearance for Bradford in the 1999/00 season - two and a half years after his last PL appearance, when he played for Everton.
Southall made 208 PL appearances across eight seasons in the top flight, with 207 of them coming in Everton colours, and he even helped the Toffees lift the FA Cup in 1995. That is still their most recent major trophy, and Southall played a key part in the victory, keeping a clean sheet as Everton beat Manchester United 1-0.
Southall averaged a clean sheet roughly every three games in the Premier League, and was even nominated for the Ballon d'Or before the Premier League became the powerhouse it is today, receiving nominations in both 1985 and 1987.
5. Mark Schwarzer (42 years and 159 days)
Onto the 42-year-olds now, and Aussie 'keeper Mark Schwarzer comes in for his appearance for Leicester City against Hull in 2015. This was Schwarzer's 514th Premier League appearance, and he still holds the record for most PL appearances by a non-British player.
His first came for Middlesbrough back in the 1996/97 campaign, and after 12 years at the Riverside, the Aussie moved down to London to sign for Fulham. Five years at Craven Cottage earned him a move to Chelsea, where he made a handful of appearances before signing for Leicester in 2015.
Remarkably, Schwarzer was part of Premier League-winning squads in back-to-back seasons, with Chelsea in 2014/15 and Leicester in their famous 2015/16 triumph - but he failed to make a single league appearance in either of these campaigns.
4. Brad Friedel (42 years and 176 days)
Former Liverpool, Blackburn, Aston Villa and Tottenham man Brad Friedel is next on the list of the older Premier League players in history, with the American shot-stopper making his final PL appearance in his 17th season.
After 450 Premier League appearances and 132 clean sheets, Friedel retired as one of the division's most iconic goalkeepers, with his career even including an appearance in the 2002/03 PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
In Friedel's last ever Premier League game - a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle - his opposite number broke a record that still stands today, with Tim Krul making a remarkable 14 saves at White Hart Lane in 2013.
3. Steve Ogrizovic (42 years and 237 days)
A household name among Coventry City fans, Steve Ogrizovic made 601 appearances during his time at the Sky Blues, with 191 of those games coming in the Premier League.
The popular goalkeeper made his final Premier League appearance for Coventry in May 2000, helping his side to a 4-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday, signing off from a career that even saw him play in Coventry's one and only FA Cup final victory, when they beat Spurs to lift the trophy.
'Oggy' is still considered one of Coventry's greatest ever goalkeepers, and while he may not be such a famous name in the Premier League landscape, his appearance at the age of 42 years and 237 days ensures his name is etched in the history books forever.
2. Alec Chamberlain (42 years and 327 days)
Just over a month shy of his 43rd birthday, Alec Chamberlain made his final Premier League appearance as a late substitute for Watford in the final day of the 2006/07 season - when the Hornets were relegated to the Championship.
That game was in fact Chamberlain's only PL appearance that season, with manager Aidy Boothroyd giving the veteran the chance to end his 11-year Watford career on a high by playing the final minute of the season in a home draw against Newcastle.
Chamberlain made 28 Premier League appearances, keeping three clean sheets - including this final-day cameo - before retiring in 2007, a matter of days after pulling on the Watford shirt for one last time.
1. John Burridge (43 years and 162 days)
And so we come to the oldest Premier League player of all time. The only man to ever play in the PL at the age of 43, Manchester City's John Burridge was something of an 'emergency signing' for a lot of clubs towards the end of his career, and City brought him in as cover for the back-end of the 1994/95 season - which proved to be an excellent decision.
Burridge only played four times for Man City, which makes up 100% of his games in the Premier League, so the veteran goalkeeper is far from a household name - but his 768 league appearances over a career spanning almost 30 years aren't to be sniffed at.
Burridge made his fourth and final Premier League appearance on the final day of 1994/95 campaign at 43 years and 162 days, conceding three as City lost at home to QPR, and became the oldest Premier League player ever - a record that is likely to stand for some time yet.
How can I watch the 2025/26 Premier League season?
A host of games from the 2025/26 season will be shown, with Sky Sports and TNT Sports airing games for UK viewers.
Can you bet on the Premier League?
Ladbrokes is giving customers the chance to bet on a number of Premier League markets, from match-specific markets to the outright winners - with Arsenal the current favourites.
