"I like that people doubt me. It only spurs me on to continue and succeed. When will I retire? Maybe in 10 years."
These words were said not long ago by Cristiano Ronaldo, who celebrates his 39th birthday today after winning another award, when he finished 2023 as the leading scorer in world football.
Cristiano Ronaldo is indeed a natural phenomenon, but it turns out that it is a phenomenon that is spreading rapidly in world sports.
Until a few years ago, athletes who reached the age of 40 were considered a curiosity.
First of all, there were almost none, and if there were - they did not compete at the high levels but played for their own pleasure in junior leagues.
A type of pension.
Ronaldo comes to training El Nasser - fit or not?
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Credit: Al Nasser
But something has changed in recent years.
More and more super-athletes continue to demonstrate impressive abilities as they are within touching distance of their 40th birthday.
The three most prominent examples are Ronaldo, LeBron James and Novak Djokovic.
The latter arrived as the big favorite to win the Australian Open last month even though he is already 36 years old. When he lost in the semifinals to the Italian Yannick Ciner, one of the best players in the world, who is 14 years younger than him, the tennis world was shocked.
LeBron James and Steph Curry, photo: USA TODAY
In normal days it would be accepted naturally that a 36-year-old player loses to a young 22-year-old lion. But we are not in normal days.
And despite the rare loss Nola is not going to stop.
LeBron James celebrated his 39th birthday on December 30, but that doesn't stop him from continuing to be one of the best players in the NBA.
A few weeks before the birthday, the Lakers beat the Pacers 109:123 and won the mid-season trophy, and the king was chosen as the outstanding player.
LeBron's average points in 2022-23 was 28.9 per game.
This season he stands at 25.2.
Impressive numbers by all accounts for any player, no matter how old he is.
Just about a week ago, he helped the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors in a game where he recorded a monstrous triple double: 36 points, 12 assists and a career high of 20 rebounds!
At the age of 39!
Novak Djokovic, photo: AP
True, he plays fewer minutes than before, when he was younger, but that's part of the point.
Knowing how to take care of the body, especially when it comes to his 20th season in the league.
In the 2022-23 season, James was ranked 9th in the league in the number of minutes.
Today he is already in 38th place.
"The key to continuing the career is to be consistent. I am very consistent in training the body, in the recovery of the body and in eating. I keep the body clean during this journey, because I always wanted a career as long as I can," he said in an interview.
LeBron is very particular about sleeping, at least 8 or 9 hours a day, sometimes even 10 hours.
And it's not just getting into bed: it takes care of the optimal temperature in the bedroom, keeps it completely dark and prevents any possible disturbance.
Another important element in extending your career is mental health.
Thus, for example, LeBron says "When I lose, I don't dwell too much on the loss, but try to learn from it and find ways to improve."
Maverick Carter, LeBron's business partner, said a few years ago that James spends about 1.5 million dollars every year on "body maintenance".
This money is mainly invested in consultants, experts and advanced equipment.
One of them is Adam Bronstein, his personal nutritionist.
Pele, photo: none
The difference between the athletes of today and those of the past is huge, as far as investment in body maintenance and career is concerned.
And you can't blame the athletes of the past, since there were not then the technological tools and scientific methods that are available today.
The Brazilian Pele, one of the greatest footballers of all time, retired from the Brazilian national team at the age of 31 and ended his career at Santos at the age of 34, before he "retired" at the New York Cosmos.
He felt that he no longer had the ability to play at the level to which he had accustomed everyone, and the injuries he suffered also took their toll.
The truth is that in the 70s it was normal and acceptable to retire at those ages.
For example, Marco van Basten, the legendary Dutch striker, ended his career even earlier, at the age of 29, when he was unable to recover from the injuries he suffered.
One of the most advanced fields in sports science today is injury prevention.
If Pele or Van Basten were playing today, they would probably also play until close to the age of 40.
But you don't have to go that far.
When Djokovic began his career, the record for winning Grand Slam titles was Pete Sampras with 14. "Pistol Pete" won only one Grand Slam title after the age of 30 and retired at the age of 31. In his last year, he won 27 matches and lost 17.
For comparison, Djokovic's record in 2023, when he is 36 years old, is amazing: 46 wins compared to 5 losses.
If we return to Ronaldo, apart from the fact that the Portuguese is the greatest scorer in the history of football, he is simply insatiable.
Even after winning every possible title (except the World Cup), even after breaking so many records, he doesn't give the impression of someone who intends to stop playing and scoring in the coming years.
So it's true, for the last year he has been playing in the Saudi League, which is not in the top of the world.
But in the Portugal team he is still the big star.
In 2023 he scored 10 goals in 9 games in the national uniform.
Ronaldo, like LeBron, invests a lot of time and money to maintain his body, so that he can continue to play at the highest levels even as he approaches his fifth decade of life.
Leo Messi, photo: Getty Images
But it is not only Ronaldo but also the nemesis, Leo Messi.
Compared to Ronaldo, the Argentine looks young, but we must not forget that he is also no longer a child and in July he will be 37. And here, just a little over a year ago, Messi was the outstanding player in the World Cup.
It is understood that in order to continue playing even at such ages, the athlete must have a special personality structure - very competitive and with an unending hunger for achievements and titles, in addition to the entire scientific and technological envelope.
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It is likely that as science advances we will see super athletes continue to be at their peak even in the years after their 40th birthday.
What previously seemed illogical will become reality.
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