FIFA fan favorite plans to come out of retirement at 40, even though he hasn’t played in over 10 years.
A former FIFA star might be coming out of retirement soon — and another has already returned to his childhood club.
Jackson Martinez, the ex-Colombia striker who turned 40 this month, joined his first club, Independiente Medellin, again in September after retiring for six years. He had to retire in 2020 because of long-lasting ankle problems. But he’s not the only well-known player making a surprising comeback.
Benoit Tremoulinas, a former Sevilla left-back, played his last big game in 2016 during a Europa League semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk. He missed the whole next season due to a knee injury, left Sevilla as a free agent, and retired in 2019 at just 33 years old because he couldn’t fully recover. Now 40, he plans to return to his boyhood club Bordeaux, where he spent 13 years as a youth player before going pro in 2007.
Tremoulinas played over 200 matches for Bordeaux and helped them win the Ligue 1 title in 2008/09. The club has had big money problems, went into administration in 2021, and was relegated multiple times, dropping down to the sixth tier in French football. Tremoulinas, now working as a TV pundit, told L’Equipe he might make a surprise comeback and plans to start training with the first team in two weeks. He’ll return to playing only if his knee holds up during training and games.
As for Martinez, he’s back in Colombia’s top league with Independiente Medellin, where he’ll reunite with former teammates like Juan Quintero and Frank Fabra. When Medellin announced his return in September, they said he signed a contract until December, with an option to extend. Martinez scored 52 goals in 151 games for the club from 2004 to 2009.
The club said, “Jackson is coming back to the place where his career began, to meet the fans who cheered his goals and remember the 2009 title – a moment that forever shaped his story with the team. His return is more than just a player coming back. It’s a legend rejoining the club, ready to continue writing his story with DIM. Welcome home, Jackson. The red team is back with one of its greatest idols.”