The Welsh wizard, considered one of football’s earliest superstars, may already have been considered ‘old’ when he joined United as a 31-year-old in 1906, after serving a season-long ban for attempting to bribe an opposition player.
He became part of United’s first great side, winning two titles and the FA Cup before the outbreak of the First World War, and the subsequent suspension of league football, seemingly ended his career.
But amazingly, Meredith – now 45 – was still part of the squad when the First Division returned for the 1919/20 campaign.
On the final day of the following season, he set a club landmark that will surely never be broken, appearing against Derby at the age of 46 years and 281 days old, and he even had another couple of terms left him, returning to Manchester City and playing until a couple of months before his 50th birthday.
Will Ronaldo keep going for that long? We wouldn’t put it past him…
