Porto defender Pepe is the oldest player to start in this phase of the tournament
On the evening of February 21st at Champions League were simultaneously updated two records tournament.
Included Barcelona against Napoli (1:1) the Spanish winger played 79 minutes Lamin Yamal. At the age of 16 years and 223 days, he became the youngest footballer ever to take to the field in the playoffs of the main European Cup.
In a parallel match, the central defender played the entire match against Arsenal (1:0) Porto Pepe. He also updated the age record for the Champions League playoffs, becoming the oldest field player to play from the first minutes in this phase of the tournament. Four days later, on February 26, the veteran will turn 41 years old.
The prodigy Yamal made his debut in the Barcelona first team when he was not yet 16 – this happened in April last year. Then another talent from La Masia became Barcelona’s youngest debutant in La Liga and the fifth youngest player in the history of the Spanish championship.
Subsequently, Lamine, a Spaniard of Moroccan-Equato-Guinean origin, established several more unique achievements. On September 8, he became the youngest goal scorer in the history of the Spanish national team. On October 8, 2023, he became the youngest scorer in La Liga history. In January, Yamal became the youngest goal scorer in the Spanish Cup this century.
In total, this season Yamal has already played 35 matches for the Blue Garnets, scored five goals and provided seven assists.
Pepe (full name Kepler Laveran Lima Ferreira) played for Porto from 2004 to 2007, and then returned to the club in 2019, after a long spell at Real Madrid and a year in Besiktas.
In total, the Portuguese played 726 matches at the professional club level, in which he made 78 effective actions. He also has 134 matches and 8 goals for the Portuguese national team. Having scored against Shakhtar on December 13 in the sixth round of the group tournament (5:3), Pepe updated his own record as the oldest goalscorer in the Champions League.
The difference between Yamal and Pepe is more than 24 years. The Spaniard was born two years after the Portuguese played his first match in the Champions League playoffs.
Source: Sportarena
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