Some players are appearing in their last major championships at Euros 24.
In some cases, they have already announced their intention to retire from international football after their conclusion or to quit the sport altogether. There will be other instances when players have reached the age when they will not be available in two years’ time when the next World Cup is played or the European Championships of 2028.
The best prefer to go out on their terms, walking away with their heads held high before their national managers tell them it is time to go by and leave them out of the next squad. However, this may not be possible in one famous instance, and the decision may have to be made for him.
Here are just some of those in their last international tournament.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first man to appear in six successive European Championships in Germany.
The all-time leading international goalscorer – he now has 130 goals for his country – appeared to be close to ending his Portugal career at the Qatar World Cup, as he cut a frustrated figure as he was benched following clashes with his then-man Fernando Santos.
However, when Santos was replaced after the tournament by Roberto Martínez, one of the first things he did was to bring back Ronaldo and make him captain.
Now playing in the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo scores regularly for his club, Al Nassr.
And he continues to lead the side, although, at the age of 39, he no longer has the pace he once possessed, particularly in wide areas.
While he remains physically fit, he may no longer have the legs to compete at the World Cup in two years. There have been suggestions that he is not popular with his teammates, and they are deliberately not passing it on to him during this tournament.
He may decide to retire after Euro 24. If he does not, somebody from the Portuguese Football Federation may be left with the unenviable task of telling him it is time to call it quits.
While that may not be popular with him or his legion of fans, it may be in Portuguese football's longer-term interest.
Pépé
Ronaldo’s international team-mate Pépé has already become the oldest player ever to appear at the Euros in this championship, and, although the center-half remains evergreen, at the age of 41, this must be his last tournament.
He remains an expert at marshaling and organizing his defense, and his reading of the game remains second to none. However, time waits for no man, and he will undoubtedly soon be up.
Luka Modrić
Croatia has consistently punched above its weight compared to the size of its population in terms of major tournaments in the past decade. They reached the World Cup final in 2018, were beaten finalists in 2022, and also lost the final of the most recent Nations League to Spain after a penalty shoot-out.
Yet the Golden Generation of players that has brought them so much success is now coming to the end of the line and is all on the wrong side of 30. That especially applies to their captain, Luka Modrić, who has been at the team's heartbeat in central midfield but is now 38, and his stamina is no longer guaranteed.
Although Real Madrid has just offered him a new short-term deal, he rarely gets through 90 minutes for the Spanish and European champions these days, and Croatia knows it is time to rebuild without him.
Toni Kroos
Modric’s partner in the heart of the Real Madrid midfield, Toni Kroos, has already made the decision.
He announced that he would be retiring from football altogether after the Euros, even though, at the age of 34, he still has several years left at the top level.
At club level, though, he retired on a high, having won La Liga and the Champions League in his final season with Real. He hopes to do the same with the national side and is a survivor of the side that won the World Cup 2014 in Brazil.
Kroos came out of international retirement to play in Euros 24, but Germany’s final match will also be his last as a professional footballer.
Thomas Müller
Another survivor of the 2014 World Cup winning squad, Thomas Müller, remains part of Germany’s squad, although his appearances now are mainly confined to the bench.
He is also becoming an increasingly peripheral figure for his club side, Bayern Munich, and the attributes that made him such an influential player, including stamina and work rate, are gradually diminishing.
Müller is already the most decorated player in German history and has nothing left to prove.
Manuel Neuer
Müller’s club and international teammate Manuel Neuer must also be nearing the end of his international career. Like Kroos and Müller, a survivor of the team that won the World Cup in 2014, Neuer was regarded as the world's best goalkeeper for a number of years.
However, although he remains a fine shop stopper, mistakes have begun to creep into his game, and the sweeper-keeper role that he perfected is beginning to pose problems, with a host of younger players snapping at his heels, waiting for their chance.
Ivan Perišić
Like Modrić, a member of Croatia’s Golden Generation, he is vastly experienced and has played 133 times for his country. However, injuries and age are beginning to catch up with the winger. An anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) ended his career prematurely with Premier League Tottenham Hotspur, and he is now back in his native Croatia with Hajduk Split.
Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski has been a talisman for Poland, their star striker and captain for many years.
Unfortunately, injury ruled him out of the first game of the tournament, and he was only fit enough to start from the bench in their second against Austria. When he did finally appear on the pitch, his first action saw him pick up a yellow card for an elbow in an aerial challenge.
Although he continues scoring goals for Barcelona, he is no longer the prolific striker of his Bayern Munich days, and at 35, he is heading into the twilight of his career.
With Poland the first team eliminated from the competition this year, it would be surprising if news of his retirement was not imminent.
Poland has arguably been too reliant on Lewandowski, and his retirement could present them with an opportunity to alter the balance and makeup of their team.
Olivier Giroud
Olivier Giroud is France’s all-time top goalscorer, with 57 goals in 130 appearances for Les Bleus.
He famously won the World Cup with them in 2018 in Russia without having a shot on goal in the entire tournament.
However, at 37, he has already announced this will be his last international tournament.
He recently turned down the offer of a new deal with AC Milan and will be heading to America instead, having agreed to join MLS side Los Angeles FC.
He has been described as the most underrated striker in the world, and, for all their pace, France does not have anybody else who offers the same physicality in attacking areas.
