There was a time, believe it or not, when 30 was seen as some sort of watershed age for a footballer.
You were not so much into the final stretch of your career, you were into the final furlong. Some big clubs even had an unwritten policy of not giving contracts of more than a year’s length to players who were in their fourth decade.
Those days are over. Mohamed Salah turned 30 earlier this summer and has been given a new three-year deal by Liverpool, Robert Lewandowski turns 34 next month but is signing a three-year deal with Barcelona.
