France cult hero, 39, you had no idea is still playing signs for eighth club of his career in free transfer

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC did it. Pepe is still doing it. And Cristiano Ronaldo will surely be doing it next year in even more extravagant style.

The football legends all served up “Love 40” as a smashing motto for the final slice of their career.

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Mathieu Valbuena has been an explosive attacker, usually out wide[/caption]

AFP

Valbuena, third left in the front row, played for France alongside legends like Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann and Hugo Lloris[/caption]

Now a cult striker who you didn’t even know you had forgotten is about to join that elite-within-an-elite group.

Ibrahimovic retired in 2023 at 41, the age at which Porto centre-back Pepe shone for Portugal at Euro 2024 this summer.

And five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo expects to still be banging in goals for Al-Nassr when he reaches his 40th birthday next February.

But another top frontman, who has played with and against the best, has just joined his eighth European top-tier club, a month short of turning 40.

Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann were among his team-mates as he won 52 caps for France, notching eight goals and 20 assists. 

Step forward Mathieu Valbuena.

Since beginning with French second-level club Libourne, the wide attacker has only ever been with top-flight teams.

Marseille saw the most and arguably the best of him, from 2006 to 2014.

Valbuena then took in Dynamo Moscow, Lyon, Fenerbahce and Olympiacos. 

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In fact, it was only when he joined Cypriots last season that his playing days perhaps eased down a notch.

Now the 5ft 6ins star has joined Greeks Athens Kallithea on a free transfer.

But despite his longevity, his main stint in the headlines over the past decade came from a court case in which he was the innocent party.

Les Bleus icon Benzema was given a one-year suspended sentence for complicity in a 2015 bid to blackmail Valbuena over a sex tape.

Benzema also received a £63,000 fine, along with three friends, and was cast out of the French team for five-and-a-half years.

That’s all in the past now as Valbuena prepares for his second spell in Greece.

And he insists he’s as revved up as ever for a looming new season.

Valbuena said: “I’m very happy to arrive at Athens Kallithea. 

“I’m so excited to meet everyone in the team and I can’t wait for the first match of the season. 

“The most important thing for me is the commitment to fight for Athens Kallithea in every single match and I hope we have a great season. 

“I can also say that I am very happy to be returning to Greece, this country is amazing.”