For a little while, it was easy to worry about how much tread was left on Harry Kane‘s tires.
After recording ridiculous minutes for both club (Tottenham Hotspur) and country (England) in the mid-2010s — over 4,000 in all competitions in 2015-16, 2017-18 and 2018-19 — his effectiveness began to wane a bit. He had averaged 1.21 combined goals and assists per 90 minutes in the Premier League in 2016-17, then 0.94 in 2017-18, but that slipped to 0.78 and 0.70 in the following seasons, and he missed time with ligament and muscle injuries. He was 26, but he had put in the miles of a 30-year-old.
This season, just a couple of months away from his 33rd birthday, Kane is averaging 1.48 goals and assists per 90 in all competitions. Now with Bayern Munich, he has scored 31 goals in 26 Bundesliga appearances and 11 in 10 Champions League matches. To watch him as he approaches his mid-30s is to watch an almost perfectly well-rounded forward. He can muscle up against central defenders and teleport into open spaces. He can go up for a header in traffic, and he can knock in a rocket from outside the box. (Yes, he can also put in a lot of penalties. He’s 15-for-17 on those this season.) And he’s still coming up with firsts, too: On Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, he scored his first goal in the Bernabeu stadium as Bayern beat Real Madrid for the first time in 10 tries.
Kane is the perfect recipient of this year’s Gündogan Awards. Since 2020-21, I’ve been celebrating the players who are most gracefully fending off the effects of age. (Why “Gündogans”? Because Ilkay Gündogan was the prime recipient in the first piece. Here are some other editions from 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24.)
Below are this year’s Gündogan recipients. All of them are at least 32 years old and have established a level of play as high as it has been in quite a while (or ever). They are embarrassing Father Time and entertaining the hell out of us.
– The case for Man United’s Fernandes as Premier League’s best
– Why missing Champions League can boost Premier League teams
– Who are the 39 best men’s U21 players in the world?
Harry Kane, ST, Bayern Munich
It had to be difficult for Kane, deciding to leave Spurs after 10 seasons and 213 Premier League goals, just 47 short of Alan Shearer’s league record. New challenge (and major trophy potential) or immortality? Kane chose the former, and it’s hard to think he has regretted it for even a second.
Similarly, it’s hard to think Bayern has ever regretted laying down a €95 million transfer fee for Kane despite the fact that he had just turned 30. Even acknowledging a trophy-less first season for Kane and Bayern, both he and his club just keep improving. Bayern are on pace for 89 points in Bundesliga play, their most since 2013-14, and Kane has scored 49 goals and five assists in 41 matches in all competitions.
It’s the well-roundedness that sticks out. Kane knows every way to draw contact, and therefore penalties, but he’s strong enough to maintain his position jostling in the box with defenders, and his technical skill on the ball is underappreciated. Almost his entire development and trajectory came together for a single, brilliant score against Atalanta in the Champions League round of 16 last month.
50 in the Champions League 😤
Harry Kane powers through defenders and finishes it with class. Unreal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IVRKb1hLRX
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 18, 2026
That even topped the time he impersonated the Bundesliga logo.
Kane now has 134 goals in all competitions for Bayern, and while he’s still playing catch-up in the trophies department (he has two in Munich thus far), Bayern will clinch another Bundesliga title in a few more weeks, they’ll play in the DFB-Pokal semifinals in two weeks, and per Opta, they remain second favorites in the Champions League behind Arsenal. For that matter, England’s the No. 3 betting favorite in the World Cup, too. Kane’s trophy total could add up in a hurry, and while I’m sure he’s honored by his place in the Gündogan Awards list, his future individual and team success might make him awfully attractive to Ballon d’Or voters as well.
OK, fine, it’s not particularly surprising that, even at 40 years old, Luka Modric is second in Serie A in total touches (2,500), passes completed (1,865) and progressive passes (375). He’s 2018 Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric, after all, and Serie A is generally seen as a lower-tempo league. His vision and natural passing ability would probably allow him to remain dangerous at 70 if he didn’t have to run much. He’s 10th in chances created (48)? Of course he is. He’s also second in passes received (1,645)? It’s pretty wild that AC Milan is this ridiculously reliant on someone who recently entered their fifth decade on earth, but still … it’s Modric.
Here’s something that blew me away, however: Modric is also first in the league in ball recoveries, with 177. Granted, fantastic smarts and positioning mean that ball recoveries aren’t a pure hustle stat, but it still requires you to cover some ground! And Modric, in his first season after leaving Real Madrid, joined another one of the world’s most celebrated clubs, in one of the five best leagues in the world, and has completely Modric’d the hell out of everyone.
It almost makes you wonder why Real Madrid spent so much time managing his minutes in recent seasons. From 2022-23 through 2024-25, Modric never started more than 19 league matches, played more than 1,819 league minutes or averaged more than 53 minutes per appearance. It’s surely helped that Milan didn’t have European ball to worry about this season, but Modric has started 30 of Milan’s 32 matches and played in 31. He’s averaging 84.5 minutes per appearance, and he’s on pace for his first 3,000-minute league season since 2011-12.
This should not be the case! The man is older than Lionel Messi! He’s five years older than Andrea Pirlo was when Pirlo moved to MLS! He’s going to be a key member of a World Cup contender (Croatia) this summer! None of this is normal!
If I were tasked with crafting a list of the top women’s players of all time, the top 12 would look something like this. Active players are in bold. (This is all quite negotiable. Please don’t yell at me too much.)
1. Marta
2. Birgit Prinz
3. Abby Wambach
4. Mia Hamm
5. Christine Sinclair
6. Sun Wen
7. Michelle Akers
8. Megan Rapinoe
9. Carli Lloyd
10. Aitana Bonmatí
11. Heidi Mohr
12. Alexia Putellas
Granted, Marta might never retire, and at 28 with three straight Ballons d’Or in the books, Bonmatí is on a rocket ship toward the top three or so. But after losing a couple of years to injury, Putellas, Bonmatí’s Barcelona teammate and the 2021 and 2022 Ballon d’Or winner, has found top gear again in 2025 and 2026. Her case for a spot in the top 10, at worst, is growing stronger.
Despite her role as a midfielder, and despite Barcelona being particularly ridiculous this season — in 41 matches in all competitions, they’ve won 38 with two draws, one loss and a combined 164-14 scoring margin — she’s third on the team in both goals (nine) and assists (six) in Liga F play. She has nearly matched her career high in combined goals and assists in the Champions League: She had 13 (11 goals and two assists) in 10 matches in 2021-22, but she has produced six goals and six assists in eight matches this year (with either two or three matches remaining). Only Bayern’s Klara Bühl has more assists, only Arsenal‘s Alessia Russo and Bayern’s Pernille Harder have more goals, and no one has more combined goal contributions.
Both Spain and Barcelona grew increasingly dominant when Putellas was hurt, and they might both be untouchable now that she’s back to full speed.
It’s important to take on new challenges as you age, but isn’t “Bring Schalke back to the Bundesliga, and bring Bosnia and Herzegovina back to the World Cup at age 40” a bit much? Dzeko has scored six goals with three assists in eight matches since joining Schalke’s promotion push in January, and he scored the game-tying goal for his country late against Wales in March’s qualification semifinals. Bosnia and Herzegovina eventually won that match in penalties, and Dzeko attempted three shots with a lot of important holdup play in their eventual qualification final win over Italy, too.
Schalke are currently in first place in the 2. Bundesliga, five points ahead of third place (a reminder: the third-place team plays a playoff against the Bundesliga’s third-worst team) and, most importantly, six points ahead of fourth. Dzeko injured a shoulder against Italy but is expected to return reasonably soon, and if he can see out promotion, then become one of three 40-year-olds (along with Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo) at the World Cup, how on earth do you top that at age 41?
Knee injury, 68 days. Patellar tendon problems, 123 days. Knee injury, 155 days. Cartilage damage, 41 days. Ankle injury, 40 days. Danny Welbeck’s injury history page at Transfermarkt spreads to a second page and reminds us of the what-ifs that littered the early portions of his career. He topped 2,000 league minutes at age 21 at Manchester United in 2011-12 — a season in which they nearly won the Premier League — and somehow didn’t do it again until last season, when he scored double-digit league goals for the first time at age 34.
He has topped himself this season. He’s the Premier League’s leading English scorer in 2025-26, with a career-high 12 goals, and he became Brighton’s all-time top division scorer in October.
His form has been so solid that English national team coach Thomas Tuchel faced a number of questions about calling him up in the last couple of international windows. A debate about a 35-year-old who hasn’t played for the national team in eight years! What a fun story this has become.
Barring a stunning late collapse from Paris Saint-Germain, Lens’ surprising Ligue 1 title push will come up short in the coming weeks, but they’re on pace to improve by 20 points and jump from eighth to second in the league, in part because of Thauvin’s arrival.
Almost a decade removed from a brilliant three-year run with Marseille — he produced 53 goals and 28 assists in league play from 2016-17 to 2018-19 — the enigmatic 33-year-old right winger came back to France after a solid 2½ seasons with Udinese, and he has been the team’s designated Stuff Tryer all season: He’s first on the team in progressive carries (232), first in expected goals (10.6), first in expected assists from completed passes (8.0), first in 1-on-1 attempts (105), first in completed crosses (50), second in chances created (67), second in progressive passes (170), second in passes received (1,110), third in goals (nine), third in assists (five) and even first in ball recoveries in the attacking third (24).
He just does things, as evidenced by the fact that he has, by a significant margin, the highest expected point value added (xPVA) for all on-ball actions in the league.
(That’s 30-year-old Lens teammate and potential future Gündogan honoree Matthieu Udol in second place.)
Even in a league loaded with ambitious youngsters, Thauvin has figured out a way to become a difference-maker. And his play hasn’t gone unnoticed. After more than four years without a national team appearance, Thauvin joined the team again last fall, and he scored almost immediately after subbing in against Azerbaijan on Oct. 10. If that international window was his swan song, it still made for a hell of a story.
She made her national team debut for France 12 years ago, she has played at least 19 matches for seven different clubs over three different leagues, and she was already a Gündogan honoree three years ago! But life in San Diego is very much agreeing with Dali, and she has basically been a Modric for the NWSL. Since the start of the 2025 NWSL season, the 34-year-old is first in the league in touches (2,674), passes received (1,662), progressive carries (283) and ball recoveries (214) and second in chances created (68), pass completions (1,762) and progressive passes (268).
The 2026 season is young, but Dali has been every bit as effective early on. She’s the best crosser in the league, and after rising from 10th to sixth last season, the Wave are first, with 12 points in five matches. No one’s more responsible for the rise than Dali.
Casemiro, MF, Manchester United
Did I name him one of the 50 worst transfers in Premier League history a couple of months ago? Yep! And for that lower-priced contract, and his age at the time, I stand by the pick in principle.
Since Michael Carrick took over at United on Jan. 13, however, the Red Devils have lost just once in 10 league matches, and the 34-year-old Casemiro, another multitime Gündogans honoree, has been maybe the second-most-important player during the run (behind Bruno Fernandes, himself almost Gündogans-eligible at this point). In these 10 matches, Casemiro has won 41 ground duels, most on the team, and he has been second on the team in a wide array of statistics, including both defensive interventions (113) and goals (three). (Other seconds: shots on goal, expected assists and progressive passes.)
He announced he would be leaving the club in March, and he’s doing everything he can to assure that his final weeks in Manchester are his best — or at least the best since his first year there.
It would feel like cheating to mention Leo Messi here — he earned enough accolades in his day — so let’s instead honor one of MLS’ Gündogan-aged mainstays. Morález is in his 10th season with NYCFC, including the small sliver of the 2023 season he spent back with the club after returning briefly to Racing Club in Argentina, and after reestablishing himself as a starter in 2025, he has been ridiculously impressive early in 2026. He’s second in the league in assists (five), sixth in chances created (16) and 25th in ball recoveries (34), and he’s proving still capable of absolutely ridiculous passes like this.
What a ball from Maxi Moralez 😮💨
Agustín Ojeda puts @newyorkcityfc ahead of Miami. pic.twitter.com/RGGj56xTlK
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 22, 2026
Morález logged double-digit assists in both the 2019 (12) and 2021 (11) seasons, and he’s already nearly halfway to topping that figure. Not bad for a 5-foot-3, 126-pounder who just turned 39.
Granted, 33 is only about 28 in goalkeeper years — or even younger, if 40-year-old Bayern legend Manuel Neuer‘s performance on Tuesday against Real Madrid was any indication — but what Schwolow has done at Hearts this season is still awfully impressive. After producing a save percentage between 56% and 70% for nine of his last 10 seasons at various German clubs, and after serving as a backup over the last two seasons with Union Berlin, Schwolow has been a key member of Hearts’ surprising title push in Scotland, recording saves on 74% of shots on goal and producing clean sheets in 52% of his starts. (His career high: 43%.)
Schwolow gave up two goals in a recent disappointing draw with Livingston, and with Hearts’ lead at just one point over Rangers (whom they’ll host on May 4) and three over Celtic (whom they’ll visit on May 16), his performance down the stretch will help to determine whether this magical run finishes with a happy ending. But he has been a game-changing free transfer thus far.
If we aren’t going to a former Gündogans honoree for an accomplishment this big, then what’s the point of any of this?
King of Cards 🟨
Diego Chara is now the @MLS all-time leader in yellow cards with 124 pic.twitter.com/LhYz21t9zr
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) April 5, 2026
Honorary Gündogan No. 2: James Milner, MF, Brighton
If we don’t celebrate a 40-year-old breaking the Premier League’s all-time appearances record, what is the point of having the Gundogan awards at all?
A career that defies all expectations.
James Milner has officially made the most appearances in the HISTORY of the Premier League. 👏 pic.twitter.com/E9X1H5AIez
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 21, 2026
Honorary Gündogan No. 3: Ilkay Gündogan, MF, Galatasaray
Maybe you’ve heard of him? Gündogan’s storied Manchester City run ended after last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, but he has found a solid landing spot with Galatasaray, where he has enjoyed five goal involvements in league play. Galatasaray’s goal differential when he’s on the pitch is plus-1.8 per 90 minutes. Granted, he has played only 1,046 minutes (plus 413 in the Champions League), but he has been a part of a Champions League round-of-16 run, and Gala is still holding onto a four-point lead in the Super Lig.