Stars who have shown it can still be done after turning 40 as Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates milestone: Winning a Super Bowl, becoming world heavyweight champion and a trio of Olympic medals

Stars who have shown it can still be done after turning 40 as Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates milestone: Winning a Super Bowl, becoming world heavyweight champion and a trio of Olympic medals
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Stars who have shown it can still be done after turning 40 as Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates milestone: Winning a Super Bowl, becoming world heavyweight champion and a trio of Olympic medals
Published: Feb, 05 2025 21:57

Cristiano Ronaldo welcomed his 40th birthday donning a £4,000 compression boot, which indicates he still plans on playing football well into the fifth decade of his life. Ronaldo is still scoring goals while playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, and leading the line for the side he signed for in January 2023 having left Manchester United. The veteran has scored 23 goals and assisted four times this season and is leading the Saudi Pro League in goal contributions, with his side currently third in the league standings.

 [The forward is still scoring goals and leading the line for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Arabian league]
Image Credit: Mail Online [The forward is still scoring goals and leading the line for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Arabian league]

He moved to Saudi after falling out with former United manager Erik Ten Hag, who he accused of disrespecting him in an exclusive interview with Piers Morgan before his Old Trafford departure. Although the Saudi league does not grab as many eyeballs as European football, it is commendable what Ronaldo is able to do at his age, with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner still going strong. The Portuguese star is not the only athlete to continue their career into their 40s and achieve great things. Here, Mail Sport takes a look at some of the others.

 [He was gifted a stunning custom-made cake by Al-Nassr at training to celebrate his birthday]
Image Credit: Mail Online [He was gifted a stunning custom-made cake by Al-Nassr at training to celebrate his birthday]

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 40th birthday on Wednesday - and is showing no sign of slowing down. The forward is still scoring goals and leading the line for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Arabian league. He was gifted a stunning custom-made cake by Al-Nassr at training to celebrate his birthday. Tom Brady ended his career as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in NFL history. He won his first Super Bowl at the age of 24, but his long career saw him repeat the feat six more times with two of them coming after the age of 40.

 [Tom Brady ended his career as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in NFL history]
Image Credit: Mail Online [Tom Brady ended his career as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in NFL history]

Brady's last Super Bowl win came in his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the legendary QB became the oldest Super Bowl MVP at the age of 43, when he helped his side win the trophy in 2020. After 22 seasons, Brady finally announced his retirement on February 1, 2022. However, just 40 days later he made a comeback and became the oldest quarterback to start an NFL game. In what was his final season, Brady was unable to inspire the Buccaneers to another Super Bowl win, which led to him deciding to retire from the game for good on February 1, 2023.

 [Brady became the oldest quarterback to start an NFL game when he came out of retirement in 2022 in his mid-40s]
Image Credit: Mail Online [Brady became the oldest quarterback to start an NFL game when he came out of retirement in 2022 in his mid-40s]

Tom Brady ended his career as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in NFL history. Brady became the oldest quarterback to start an NFL game when he came out of retirement in 2022 in his mid-40s. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar entered the NBA as one of the most decorated college basketball players after helping the University of California win three National Collegiate Athletic Association championships. He lived up to his expectations when joining the NBA and delivered the Milwaukee Bucks their first-ever championship, also starring for the Lakers, helping them win five championships in his time there.

 [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar starred for both Milwaukee Bucks and the Lakers during his NBA career]
Image Credit: Mail Online [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar starred for both Milwaukee Bucks and the Lakers during his NBA career]

Playing for the Lakers, Abdul-Jabbar had a plethora of talent on his roster, but they faced some tough sides throughout his career. He became the oldest Finals MVP when he won the award after his performance in the 1985 Finals against Celtics at the age of 38. He continued playing after that and won two more championships in 1988 and 1989 after turning 40, while also making it into the All-Star team in his final two seasons.

 [He won two championships in 1988 and 1989 after turning 40, also making it into the All-Star team in his final two seasons]
Image Credit: Mail Online [He won two championships in 1988 and 1989 after turning 40, also making it into the All-Star team in his final two seasons]

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar starred for both Milwaukee Bucks and the Lakers during his NBA career. He won two championships in 1988 and 1989 after turning 40, also making it into the All-Star team in his final two seasons. Tiger Woods introduced himself to the world in style when he became the youngest Masters winner in 1997 at Augusta National in record-breaking fashion. After a promising start, all eyes were on Woods and he was able to live up to the hype as he won a hatful of trophies throughout his career.

 [Tiger Woods became the second-oldest player to win the Masters at the age of 43 in 2019]
Image Credit: Mail Online [Tiger Woods became the second-oldest player to win the Masters at the age of 43 in 2019]

In 2019, Woods became the second-oldest to win the Masters at the age of 43 - his first major win since 2008, which sent a message that he still had a lot left in his tank. Woods, though, suffered a serious accident in 2021 - but he made a return in 2022 and continues playing the game at the highest level. Tiger Woods became the second-oldest player to win the Masters at the age of 43 in 2019. George Foreman was widely known as 'Big George' in boxing, for no reason more than his extraordinary boxing ability.

 [George Foreman retired at the age of 48, winning a heavyweight championship in his mid-40s]
Image Credit: Mail Online [George Foreman retired at the age of 48, winning a heavyweight championship in his mid-40s]

He won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and proved his prowess once again when he defeated Joe Frazier to win his first Heavyweight championship in 1973. Foreman lost the title to Muhammad Ali in 1974, but he carried on fighting and, in 1994, after several other victories, beat Michael Moorer and win another heavyweight championship. Foreman was controversially stripped off the title after refusing a rematch that the IBF scheduled against Axel Schulz, but he continued boxing for a few more years before eventually retiring at the age of 48.

 [His most famous fight was his defeat by Muhammad Ali in 1974, but he recovered to win another title 20 years later]
Image Credit: Mail Online [His most famous fight was his defeat by Muhammad Ali in 1974, but he recovered to win another title 20 years later]

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