Gündogan Awards: Kane, Putellas, and Modric head the 2025-26 cohort
For a brief period, concerns arose regarding the remaining stamina in Harry Kane’s career.
After logging extensive minutes for both club (Tottenham Hotspur) and country (England) during the mid-2010s—exceeding 4,000 in all competitions in 2015-16, 2017-18, and 2018-19—his performance began to decline slightly. He averaged 1.21 combined goals and assists per 90 minutes in the Premier League during 2016-17, which dropped to 0.94 in 2017-18, and further fell to 0.78 and 0.70 in the subsequent seasons, compounded by absences due to ligament and muscle injuries. At 26, he had already accumulated the mileage of a 30-year-old.
This season, just a few months shy of his 33rd birthday, Kane is averaging 1.48 goals and assists per 90 minutes across all competitions. Now playing for Bayern Munich, he has netted 31 goals in 26 Bundesliga matches and 11 in 10 Champions League games. Observing him as he nears his mid-30s reveals an exceptionally well-rounded forward. He can physically challenge central defenders and swiftly find open spaces. He is capable of heading the ball in crowded situations and can strike powerful shots from outside the penalty area. (Indeed, he has also converted a significant number of penalties, successfully scoring 15 out of 17 this season.) He continues to achieve milestones: on Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, he scored his inaugural goal at the Bernabeu stadium, helping Bayern secure a victory over Real Madrid for the first time in 10 attempts.
Kane is the ideal recipient of this year’s Gündogan Awards. Since the 2020-21 season, I have recognized players who are effectively countering the impacts of aging. (The term “Gündogans” originates from Ilkay Gündogan, who was the primary recipient in the inaugural article. Here are previous editions from 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24.)
Below are this year’s Gündogan recipients. All of them are at least 32 years old and have reached a performance level that is among the highest it has been in quite some time (or ever). They are defying the passage of time and providing us with thrilling entertainment.
– The case for Man United’s Fernandes as Premier League’s best
– Why missing Champions League can boost Premier League teams
– Who are the 39 best men’s U21 players in the world?
Harry Kane, ST, Bayern Munich
It must have been a challenging decision for Kane to leave Spurs after a decade and 213 Premier League goals, just 47 shy of Alan Shearer’s league record. Opting for a new challenge (and the potential for major trophies) over legacy? Kane made the choice for the former, and it seems unlikely he has regretted it even momentarily.
Likewise, it is hard to believe Bayern has ever regretted paying a €95 million transfer fee for Kane, even though he had just turned 30. Despite a trophy-less first season for both Kane and Bayern, both parties continue to improve. Bayern is on track for 89 points in Bundesliga play, their highest total since 2013-14, and Kane has recorded 49 goals and five assists in 41 matches across all competitions.
What stands out is his versatility. Kane knows every method to draw fouls, and consequently penalties, but he is also robust enough to hold his ground against defenders in the box, and his technical ability with the ball is often overlooked. His entire development and trajectory culminated in a single, remarkable goal against Atalanta in the Champions League round of 16 last month.
50 in the Champions League 😤
Harry Kane powers through defenders and finishes it with class. Unreal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IVRKb1hLRX
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 18, 2026
That even surpassed the moment he mimicked the Bundesliga logo.
Kane has now accumulated 134 goals in all competitions for Bayern, and while he is still catching up in terms of trophies (he has two in Munich so far), Bayern is set to secure another Bundesliga title in a few weeks, they will compete in the DFB-Pokal semifinals in two weeks, and according to Opta, they remain the second favorites in the Champions League behind Arsenal. Additionally, England is the No. 3 betting favorite for the World Cup. Kane’s trophy count could increase rapidly, and while he may appreciate his inclusion in the Gündogan Awards list, his future individual and team achievements could make him highly appealing to Ballon d’Or voters as well.
Luka Modric, MF, AC Milan
It’s not particularly surprising that, even at 40 years old, Luka Modric ranks second in Serie A for total touches (2,500), completed passes (1,865), and progressive passes (375). He is the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner, after all, and Serie A is generally perceived as a slower-paced league. His vision and innate passing skills would likely keep him effective at 70 if he didn’t have to run much. He is 10th in chances created (48)? Naturally. He’s also second in passes received (1,645)? It’s remarkable that AC Milan relies so heavily on someone who has recently entered his fifth decade, but still … it’s Modric.
However, one statistic that astonished me is that Modric leads the league in ball recoveries, with 177. While exceptional intelligence and positioning mean that ball recoveries aren’t solely a measure of effort, it still necessitates covering some ground! In his first season after departing Real Madrid, Modric joined another of the world’s most prestigious clubs, in one of the top five leagues globally, and has completely Modric’d everyone.
It raises the question of why Real Madrid spent so much time managing his minutes in recent years. From 2022-23 through 2024-25, Modric never started more than 19 league matches, played over 1,819 league minutes, or averaged more than 53 minutes per appearance. It has certainly helped that Milan hasn’t had European commitments this season, but Modric has started 30 of Milan’s 32 matches and participated in 31. He’s averaging 84.5 minutes per appearance and is on track for his first 3,000-minute league season since 2011-12.
This should not be happening! The man is older than Lionel Messi! He is five years older than Andrea Pirlo was when Pirlo moved to MLS! He is set to be a crucial member of a World Cup contender (Croatia) this summer! None of this is typical!
Alexia Putellas, MF, Barcelona
If I were to compile a list of the greatest women’s players of all time, the top 12 would resemble this. Active players are in bold. (This is all quite debatable. Please don’t be too harsh.)
1. Marta
2. Birgit Prinz
3. Abby Wambach
4. Mia Hamm
5. Christine Sinclair
6. Sun Wen
7. Michelle Akers
8. Megan Rapinoe
9. Carli Lloyd
10. Aitana Bonmatí
11. Heidi Mohr
12. Alexia Putellas
Granted, Marta may never retire, and at 28 with three consecutive Ballons d’Or to her name, Bonmatí is rapidly ascending toward the top three or so. However, after missing a couple of years due to injury, Putellas, Bonmatí’s Barcelona teammate and the 2021 and 2022 Ballon d’Or winner, has regained her top form in 2025 and 2026. Her case for a position in the top 10, at the very least, is becoming increasingly compelling.
Despite her position as a midfielder, and despite Barcelona being particularly dominant this season—winning 38 of 41 matches in all competitions with two draws, one loss, and a combined scoring margin of 164-14—she ranks third on the team in both goals (nine) and assists (six) in Liga F play. She is close to matching her career high in combined goals and assists in the Champions League: She recorded 13 (11 goals and two assists) in 10 matches in 2021-22, but she has achieved six goals and six assists in eight matches this year (with either two or three matches remaining). Only Bayern’s Klara Bühl has more assists, only Arsenal’s Alessia Russo and Bayern’s Pernille Harder have more goals, and no one has more combined goal contributions.
Both Spain and Barcelona became increasingly dominant during Putellas’ absence, and they may now be nearly unbeatable with her back to full form.
Edin Dzeko, ST, Schalke 04
Embracing new challenges as one ages is essential, but isn’t “Revive Schalke’s Bundesliga status, and lead Bosnia and Herzegovina back to the World Cup at age 40” a bit excessive? Dzeko has netted six goals with three assists in eight matches since joining Schalke’s promotion effort in January, and he scored the equalizing goal for his nation late against Wales in March’s qualification semifinals. Bosnia and Herzegovina ultimately triumphed in that match via penalties, and Dzeko contributed three shots along with significant hold-up play in their eventual qualification final victory over Italy.
Schalke currently leads the 2. Bundesliga, five points ahead of third place (a reminder: the third-place team plays a playoff against the Bundesliga’s third-worst team) and, crucially, six points ahead of fourth. Dzeko sustained a shoulder injury against Italy but is expected to return relatively soon, and if he can see through promotion, then become one of three 40-year-olds (along with Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo) at the World Cup, how could one top that at age 41?
Danny Welbeck, ST, Brighton
Knee injury, 68 days. Patellar tendon issues, 123 days. Knee injury, 155 days. Cartilage damage, 41 days. Ankle injury, 40 days. Danny Welbeck’s injury history on Transfermarkt extends to a second page and serves as a reminder of the what-ifs that have marked the early stages of his career. He surpassed 2,000 league minutes at age 21 with Manchester United in 2011-12—a season in which they nearly clinched the Premier League—and did not achieve that milestone again until last season, when he scored double-digit league goals for the first time at age 34.
This season, he has outdone himself. He is the Premier League’s leading English scorer in 2025-26, with a career-high 12 goals, and he became Brighton’s all-time top division scorer in October.
His performance has been so impressive that English national team coach Thomas Tuchel faced numerous inquiries about including him in the last couple of international windows. A discussion about a 35-year-old who hasn’t represented the national team in eight years! What an intriguing narrative this has become.
Florian Thauvin, RW, Lens
Unless Paris Saint-Germain experiences an unexpected late collapse, Lens’ surprising Ligue 1 title challenge will likely fall short in the coming weeks, but they are on track to improve by 20 points and rise from eighth to second in the league, partly due to Thauvin’s presence.
Nearly a decade after a stellar three-year stint with Marseille—where he recorded 53 goals and 28 assists in league play from 2016-17 to 2018-19—the enigmatic 33-year-old right winger returned to France following a solid 2½ seasons with Udinese, and he has been the team’s designated effort-maker all season: He leads the team in progressive carries (232), expected goals (10.6), expected assists from completed passes (8.0), 1-on-1 attempts (105), completed crosses (50), chances created (67), progressive passes (170), passes received (1,110), ranks third in goals (nine), third in assists (five), and even first in ball recoveries in the attacking third (24).
He simply makes things happen, as demonstrated by the fact that he has, by a considerable margin, the highest expected point value added (xPVA) for all on-ball actions in the league.
(That’s 30-year-old Lens teammate and potential future Gündogan honoree Matthieu Udol in second place.)
Even in a league filled with ambitious young talents, Thauvin has managed to become a game-changer. His performances have not gone unnoticed. After more than four years without a national team call-up, Thauvin returned to the squad last fall, scoring almost immediately after coming on as a substitute against Azerbaijan on Oct. 10. If that international window marked his farewell, it still made for an incredible story.
Kenza Dali, MF, San Diego Wave
She made her national team debut for France 12 years ago, has played at least 19 matches for seven different clubs across three leagues, and was already a Gündogan honoree three years ago! However, life in San Diego is treating Dali exceptionally well, and she has effectively become a Modric for the NWSL. Since the beginning of the 2025 NWSL season, the 34-year-old leads the league in touches (2,674), passes received (1,662), progressive carries (283), and ball recoveries (214), and ranks second in chances created (68), pass completions (1,762), and progressive passes (268).
The 2026 season is still in its early stages, but Dali has been equally effective thus far. She is the top crosser in the league, and after climbing from 10th to sixth last season, the Wave are currently first, with 12 points from five matches. No one is more responsible for this rise than Dali.
Casemiro, MF, Manchester United
Did I label him one of the 50 worst transfers in Premier League history a few months ago? Yes! And for that lower-priced contract, and his age at the time, I maintain that assessment in principle.
However, since Michael Carrick took over at United on Jan. 13, the Red Devils have lost only once in 10 league matches, and the 34-year-old Casemiro, another multi-time Gündogan honoree, has been arguably the second-most crucial player during this stretch (behind Bruno Fernandes, who is also nearing Gündogan eligibility). In these 10 matches, Casemiro has won 41 ground duels, the highest on the team, and he ranks second in a variety of statistics, including defensive interventions (113) and goals (three). (Other second-place rankings: shots on goal, expected assists, and progressive passes.)
He announced his intention to leave the club in March, and he is doing everything possible to ensure that his final weeks in Manchester are his best—or at least the best since his inaugural year there.
