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Former Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United players are among the ex-professionals still defying age and carrying on below the EFL in the 2026-27 season.

While plenty of players lose their love for football after spending years in the game – which feels strange to us, though there are clearly many reasons why that happens – others simply cannot stay away and will keep playing wherever they can.

Here are 11 former pros whose passion for the sport remains intact as they continue winding back the clock in non-league football.

You have probably already heard about this one – Andy Carroll joined Dagenham & Redbridge last summer after a spell with fallen French giants Bordeaux.

“The level does not matter, or anything else, as long as I am on the pitch playing football, that is all that matters,” Carroll said when he was unveiled.

“Coming here and showing people that I am playing purely for the love of football rather than for money or the level is something I wanted to do.

“This is something that could be fantastic. We have a project to get them out of non-league and move them back up the leagues.”

Carroll scored six goals in 12 appearances last season. He also served as interim manager of the Daggers in March after owner KSI appointed him following the dismissal of Lee Bradbury.

After 18 months back at Swindon and helping AFC Totton reach the National League South for the first time, Charlie Austin moved to Hampshire last summer to sign for Basingstoke Town.

The club disclosed that it asked supporters to help finance the marquee transfer.

“We were nervous about even sending the email [to our members] to see if there was an appetite to help make it happen,” Basingstoke manager Dan Brownlie said.

“That is not normally how things are done, but it showed the power of this football club.

“That combination of willingness, positivity and a shared sense of responsibility turned what looked impossible into reality.”

But Austin stayed at Basingstoke only until October, leaving for Hungerford Town in an attempt to prevent their relegation from the Southern League Premier Division.

That effort was unsuccessful, but the former Southampton and QPR striker is still at the club at the time of writing.

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson made his Manchester United debut in 2015 and went on to play 14 times for the club under Louis van Gaal.

After spells in the EFL with Oldham Athletic and Burton Albion, the full-back found it difficult to secure regular first-team football elsewhere.

He spent time in Poland with Slask Wroclaw before then going 17 months without a club.

He signed for National League North side Macclesfield in January 2026 and was part of the squad that stunned Crystal Palace in the FA Cup.

After more recent spells in Australia, India and Scotland, Adam Le Fondre returned to England last summer and joined seventh-tier side FC United of Manchester.

The 39-year-old still appears to have a keen eye for goal, having scored 17 times for the club in both 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Interestingly, alongside his playing career, the former Reading forward also works as a video scout for the City Football Group.

Andre Wisdom was given his Liverpool debut by Brendan Rodgers and made 14 Premier League appearances for the club during a period that also included a number of loan spells.

The defender joined Derby in 2017 and was part of Frank Lampard’s squad that reached the play-off final before later suffering relegation under Wayne Rooney.

Wisdom later admitted he has not been the same player since he was stabbed after leaving a house party in 2020.

“It was frustrating because when I came out of hospital after about three days, I had a couple of operations, it was like my body just was not the same,” he told the Beautiful Game Podcast.

“I tried to get back into football and it was not the same, I was not getting the same output in terms of power or speed.”

Now 33, Wisdom is also playing for FC United of Manchester.

Frank Nouble began his career in Chelsea’s youth set-up before making his senior debut for West Ham in the late 2000s.

The striker has since had a journeyman career across 14 different clubs, including an interesting spell in China, and now plays for Stockton Town in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

“I know I have baggage,” Nile Ranger told BBC Sport in 2024. “If I had behaved I would have stayed at the top, but I was too unruly.”

After producing some notable moments in the Premier League and the EFL, Ranger now plays in the seventh tier of English football with Chatham Town.

Still only 35, Ranger has the natural talent to play at a higher standard, but off-field problems have repeatedly disrupted his professional career.

Former Middlesbrough and Aston Villa man Joe Bennett is now playing for National League South side Walton & Hersham at the age of 36.

It is a reflection of both his dedication and his love for the game that he is still turning out in non-league football so deep into the later stages of his career.

Freddie Sears first burst into wider attention by scoring on his West Ham debut as a 17-year-old in 2008, reducing Cockney skinheads to tears.

He later returned to the spotlight after scoring for Crystal Palace against Bristol City, only for the ball to bounce straight back out of the goal and the referee not to award it.

Sears now plays for Maldon & Tiptree in the Isthmian League Premier Division after productive spells with Ipswich and Colchester.

Marvin Sordell made 17 Premier League appearances during his peak years, but never scored in the top flight. He was, however, an Olympian in 2012.

The former Watford and Bolton forward enjoyed his most prolific period in the Championship and still seems to have a bit of magic left in his boots.

After initially retiring from professional football at the age of 28 for mental health reasons, he came out of retirement earlier this year to join Kettering Town.

He has since played for Rayners Lane and AS London, but is now with Uxbridge in the Southern League Premier Division South.

The son of British Olympian sprinter Wendy Hoyte and younger brother of Invincibles fringe player Justin, Hale End graduate Gavin Hoyte emerged in the late 2000s and made four Premier League appearances for Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.

The defender was regularly sent out on loan and eventually joined Dagenham & Redbridge after being released by his parent club in 2012.

That began a respectable career in the lower levels of the English football pyramid, which eventually led to him winning three caps for Trinidad and Tobago a decade ago.

After moving around, he then spent a settled five-year spell with Maidstone United, making more than 150 appearances and captaining the side as they moved between the National League South and the National League.

The 36-year-old is now with Sittingbourne in the Isthmian League South East Division.