10 of the oldest players participating in Euro 2016

The best of Europe clash on the international stage from the 10th of June as several nations vie for pride and bragging rights for the next four years. Deep amongst the range of teams looking to make their mark on the European stage, there are a few stalwarts of the game who will perhaps take to this stage for the final time this tournament. Looking at the oldest players participating in Euro 2016, it takes a while to soak in the span of some careers that have expanded into decades for some.

Here are the 10 oldest players participating in Euro 2016, listed in order of their age as of 10th June 2016 (when the competition officially begins):

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#10 Jean-Francois Gillet (Belgium) – 37 Years & 10 Days Old

Jean-Francois Gillet isn’t one of the most illustrious names on the list, but certainly is the youngest. Currently owned by Catania and on loan with Belgian side Mechelen, Gillet is in the Belgium squad as backup to Thibaut Courtois and one could even argue Simon Mignolet for the UEFA European Championships 2016.

At 37 Years & 10 Days, you can’t really call him all that young, but he isn’t that off the grid considering he is a goalkeeper and that keepers tend to have a longer playing span than the other outfield players. Having played professionally for 20 years now, with his debut coming for Standard Liege at age 17, Gillet has spent most of his career in the Serie A with clubs such as Bari, Bologna and Torino before joining Catania.

His National Team debut was eventful with the Belgian keeper having saved a penalty from David Villa before letting 5 into the net past him in that very game. He has 9 appearances for the Belgian side. Even though you don’t expect him to add to that count much in the future, he will step into the Euros as an esteemed senior citizen.