Playing until the age of 40 is no longer common in today's football. Few athletes in this discipline reach this age, are still active and ready to continue competing at the highest level. This is the case of Paolo Guerrero, who celebrated the Copa Sudamericana 2023 and LigaPro titles of Ecuador a few months ago with Liga de Quito, his last club.
Although he is currently without a team, the 'Predator' would still have offers from Brazilian football, a surprising situation given the stage of his career. The key to continued performance, as the player himself reveals, is that his current weight is lower than what he was a few years ago, which is due to a good diet.
“Nutrition. For example, in the qualifiers where we went to the World Cup (Russia 2018), I played at 86-87 kilos. Today I play at 84. Why couldn't I play at 86 or 87 now? I think so.” “If it were slower, heavier, I wouldn't have so much strength… I wouldn't feel light,” said the striker in an interview with Jesús Alzamora for the program “La lengua”.
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However, Guerrero was emphatic that he has no intention of extending his career any longer than necessary. “I will play football until my legs give out. When I feel injuries, when I don't last 90 minutes in a game, when I feel like I'm at the end after a game, then I have to take a step aside,” he admitted.
Paolo Guerrero remembered his positive doping
At another point in the conversation, the goalscorer recalled how he was confronted with the positive doping result that led to a suspension of several months and almost caused him to miss the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“It was terrible for me to stop playing football, not being able to play my favorite sport, not being able to go near a stadium or train at a club. I couldn't imagine playing in a World Cup, even though my lawyers told me so.” “I realize I had to play because they're going to give me a deferral,” he suggested.