The Premier League is considered by many to be the best football league in the world. This means that only the best can survive and thrive in the league. And even for top players, it gets difficult to maintain their high standards as age starts to catch. However, some players manage to compete even at an advanced age.
These players have continued to defy expectations and have played well into their late 30s. And in the process, some of them have become among the oldest goalscorers in the Premier League. Moreover, these men have scored goals in the Premier League at an age when most of the players have already retired. So without further ado, here is the list of Premier League’s top ten oldest goalscorers.
Peter Schmeichel- Aston Villa (37 years and 11 months)
Peter Schmeichel is one of the best goalkeepers to ever play in the Premier League. The Dane won a total of 16 trophies during his Premier League career (15 with Manchester United and one with Aston Villa), creating several records.
However, he also holds the record of being the 10th oldest goal scorer in the Premier League. Schmeichel achieved this feat in the 2001-02 season, scoring from a Steve Staunton corner. However, it would still not be enough for his team to win the match.
Gary Speed- Bolton Wanderers (37 years, 11 months and 17 days)
One of the best footballers to come out of Wales, Garry Speed, played a significant chunk of his career in the Premier League. He even had a promising managerial career and is credited with creating an environment in the Wales national team that helped them develop several future stars.
And Speed is also the ninth-oldest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League. The player achieved this feat in the 2007-08 season when he scored in a 3-0 win over Reading. Three years later, though in tragic circumstances, Speed committed suicide.
Mick Harford- (38 years, 1 month, and 16 days )
Mick Harford has a career in the English league that spanned over two decades. And one of the major highlights of his career was when he scored a goal for Wimbledon against West Ham United in the 1996-97 season.
This made him one of the oldest players in the league to score a goal at 38 years, 1 month, and 16 days. His goal helped Wimbledon win the match. When he scored the goals, Harford was the oldest player in the league to do so, but over the years has fallen down the pecking order.
Tugay Kerimoglu- Blackburn Rovers (38 years 3 months 6 days)
A part of the golden generation of Turkey, Tugay Kerimoglu was one of the best players in scoring long-range screamers, especially from outside the box. And when he scored from 20 yards against Portsmouth in the 2008-09 season, Kerimoglu became one of the oldest players ever to score in the Premier League.
With this, the Turkish international became the oldest foreign player to score in the league. However, his brilliant striker didn’t help Blackburn win the match, but he did manage to etch his name into the history books.
Mark Hughes- Blackburn Rovers (38 years 4 months 26 days)
While the younger Premier League fans may be more accustomed to seeing Mark Hughes in a managerial career, there was a time when the Welshman was a player in the Premier League. Hughes had an impressive two-decade career where he played for Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
And during the final season of his playing career, he became one of the oldest players to ever score in the Premier League. Hughes, with the last goal of his career against Leicester, put his name among the elite of the Premier League.
Graham Alexander- Burnley (38 years 6 months)
Graham Alexander had a long footballing career that spanned 25 years. During the entire time, Alexander was famous for his impressive penalty-taking skills, scoring 77 goals from the spot. And in the 2009-10 season, he became one of the oldest goalscorers in Premier League history when he scored a penalty kick against Hull City to help his team win the match 4-1.
Burnley would be relegated from the Premier League that season, and Alexander would retire after two more seasons ending his career at Preston North End.
Stuart Pearce- West Ham United (38 years 7 months)
Just like Mark Hughes, newer fans of the Premier League know Stuart Pearce more in a managerial career. However, Pearce also had a long career in the English league, where he played for several clubs.
Nicknamed ‘the Psycho’, Pearce was an absolute monster as a left-back, and on November 25, 2000, he became the oldest goalscorer in the Premier League when he scored against Southampton. His goal helped the team win the match 3-2.
Peace would play two more seasons before retiring in 2002.
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Ryan Giggs- Manchester United (39 years 3 months)
One of the greatest players ever to play in the Premier League, Ryan Giggs, had an amazingly long career of 24 years, all of which he spent at Manchester United. Giggs scored 164 goals and provided 251 assists. Giggs is also the player who has scored in the most Premier League seasons. The Welshman has scored in every season between 1990-2013.
The last of these goals came in the 2013 season when he scored on February 23, 2013, at the age of 39 years and three months. Giggs would retire at the end of the season and has since gone into management.
Dean Windass- Hull City (39 years 7 months 21 days)
With a career of 22 years, Dean Windass played for several mid-tier to low-tier clubs in the English league. Windass had two spells with Hull City, the first one in 1991-95 and the second in 2007-08. During that season, Windass scored against Portsmouth in a 22 draw that helped him become the second oldest goalscorer in the Premier League.
Windass would play for four years before returning in 2012, ending his career at English club AFC Walkington.
Teddy Sheringham- (40 years 8 months 24 days)
Teddy Sheringham had a fantastic career where he won 12 trophies, including three Premier League titles and one Champions League title with Manchester United. Teddy Sheringham scored 237 goals and provided 80 assists. However, the last of these goals came for West Ham United against Portsmouth in the 2006-07 season.
With that goal, Sheringham became the first and, till now, the only player above 40 to score in the Premier League.