Five Oldest Goalscorers In La Liga In The 21st Century

In this installment, we look at the five oldest goalscorers in La Liga since the turn of the century.

Patxi Punal, Defensive Midfielder

At number five, and the youngest in this list is Patxi Punal. 

The Pamplona native only played for two teams in his professional career. One of them was CD Leganes, and the other was CA Osasuna.

Patxi Punal features for CA Osasuna in a game against Real Madrid in La Liga (Photo Source: John Walton - PA Images via Getty Images)

After being promoted from the Osasuna youth team, the defensive midfielder spent one season on loan at Leganes. In 2000, he returned to Osasuna. He spent the rest of his professional career there.

In total, he scored 25 goals in his 453 appearances for Osasuna. And the last one among them came against Granada in a 1:2 home loss.

This goal—which was scored on August 18, 2013—made him the fifth-oldest goalscorer in La Liga. He was 37 years, 11 months, and 12 days old at the time.

In addition to this, he also became the oldest goalscorer for Osasuna with this goal. He retired from football at the end of the 2013/14 season.

Josep Lluis Marti, Defensive Midfielder

Josep Lluis Marti is the second-youngest player on this list. Marti played for many teams in the Spanish top-flight, including Sevilla, Real Sociedad, and RCD Mallorca.

He was a graduate of the Mallorca youth system. He returned to Mallorca in 2008 after playing for various other clubs. He eventually ended his playing career at Mallorca.

In the 2012/13 season’s last league game, he became La Liga’s fourth-oldest goalscorer in the 21st century.

On June 1, 2013, he scored the third goal in a 4:2 win in a match against Real Valladolid. He was 38 years, one month and four days old when he scored this goal.

Josep Lluis Marti features in a friendly game for RCD Mallorca against West Bromwich Albion (Photo Source: by Stephen Pond - PA Images via Getty Images)

Much like Patxi Punal, this goal made him the oldest goalscorer for RCD Mallorca in La Liga. However, there’s a small detail that shouldn’t be missed.

Even though this was the goal that made him the oldest goalscorer for Mallorca in La Liga, it wasn’t the goal that made him the oldest goalscorer in the club’s history. Instead, it was his goal against UD Las Palmas in the Segunda Division of La Liga on August 31, 2014. He was 39 years, four months, and three days old when he scored this goal.

Aritz Aduriz, Striker

Aritz Aduriz is an Athletic Club legend. However, it wasn’t the only club he played for in La Liga. He also played for teams like Valencia, Real Valladolid, and RCD Mallorca.

Aduriz played most of the games of his career in the Bilbao shirt and scored the most goals as well. There were many important ones in his 172 goals for the club, including the goal that made him the third-oldest goalscorer in La Liga in this century.

The goal came against FC Barcelona in the opening match of the 2019/20 season. It was a tight game in which neither team was able to score in almost 90 minutes. Then, Aduriz came onto the pitch for Inaki Williams in the 88th minute and scored the winner for his team just a minute after his introduction.

Aritz Aduriz celebrates after scoring a goal against FC Barcelona at the San Mames on August 16, 2019 (Photo Source: by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

He scored this goal at the age of 38 years, six months, and five days. The goal ended up being the final goal of his professional career. He retired in the middle of this season, playing just 17 matches in all competition and becoming the oldest goalscorer in the club’s history.

Joaquin, Right Winger

Joaquín Sanchez Rodríguez, more commonly known as Joaquín, began his playing career at Real Betis. He graduated from the youth academy of Real Betis in the 2000/01 season and eventually went on to play for various clubs in Spain and Italy.

After playing for Valencia, Fiorentina, and Malaga, he returned back at Betis. In this season, he played 36 games in all competitions and scored eight goals—the last of which made him the second-oldest goalscorer in La Liga.

He scored this goal in a game against RCD Mallorca on February 21, 2020. His goal was one of the six scored in the game that ended in a 3-3 draw.

Joaquin looks on during the match between Real Betis and RCD Mallorca in La Liga on February 21, 2020 (Photo Source: Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Joaquin was 38 years and seven months old when he netted this one. However, it won’t be a surprise if he manages to beat his own record or even the record for the oldest-goalscorer in the upcoming season.

Donato, Defensive Midfielder

Donato, or Donato Gama Da Silva, is the oldest goalscorer in La Liga since the turn of the century. The defensive midfielder, however, did not begin his career in Spain.

Donato began his playing career at Vasco da Gama, a Brazillian club. In July of 1988, he arrived at Atletico Madrid. After a few seasons with Los Rojiblancos, he transferred again to Deportivo de La Coruna, where he ended his playing career.

Donato dribbles a ball during a match between Deportivo la Coruna and Espanyol on January 26, 2003 (Photo Source: Firo Foto/Getty Images)

The Brazillian scored 47 goals for Deportivo, and the last of them came during the final season (2002/03 season) of his career.

This last goal he scored on May 17, 2003, in a loss against Valencia made him the oldest goalscorer in La Liga. He was 40 years, four months, and 17 days at the time. This goal also made him the oldest goalscorer in the history of the club.