The average age of the 23 candidates for The Best FIFA Men’s Player of 2016 is 28.43. It would be nearly one year less were it not for the fact that the list of nominees features two of the game’s old rock stars, a pair of legends who continue to resist the passage of time thanks to their immense talent and drive: Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon and Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Aged 38 and 35 respectively, Gigi and Ibra may well be enjoying their very last opportunity to win the coveted award, though their ability to defy the passing of the seasons and to keep breaking records remains undimmed.

This year saw the Juventus keeper set a new Serie A best for minutes played without conceding. In ticking past the 974-minute mark against Torino in March, he eclipsed the previous best, set by AC Milan’s Sebastiano Rossi in 1994. On the way, Buffon outdid another Italian goalkeeping legend in Dino Zoff, who went 903 minutes unbeaten in the 1972-73 campaign.

“He’s the greatest keeper of all time,” said former team-mate and France international David Trezeguet. “I haven’t seen anyone match Buffon for consistency in the last 20 years. I don’t know how he does it.”

Buffon, who won his fifth straight scudetto last season and helped Juve become the first side in history to win back-to-back Serie A and Coppa Italia doubles, is in no doubt as to where the secret of his longevity lies. “There are a lot of people to whom I have to be grateful for allowing me, at the age of 38, to keep playing at the highest level. I owe a lot to my family, who give me peace of mind and a wonderful life away from the pitch. Anything is possible when you have support behind you.”

A quarter-finalist with Italy at UEFA EURO 2016, where they went out on penalties to Germany, Buffon has maintained his high standards this season. As well as helping his club to the top of their UEFA Champions League group – making some superb stops along the way – Buffon has been excelling once more in Serie A, where his Juve side lead the way, having conceded fewer goals than any other team so far.

As for Ibrahimovic, he has chalked up seven Premier League goals to date for new employers Manchester United. The sixth place they currently occupy in no way takes the gloss off what has been another memorable year for the Swedish giant.

In helping himself to 50 goals in all competitions in the 2015/16 season, Ibra set a new scoring record for French football, beating the 49 amassed by Olympique Marseille’s Josip Skoblar in 1970/71. Just for good measure, the talismanic Ibrahimovic also became Paris Saint-Germain’s leading all-time marksman with 156 goals, scored in just four seasons, while his season tally of 38 Ligue 1 goals was a new club record, one more than Argentinian forward Carlos Bianchi’s haul in 1977/78.

“He’s one of those players who’s out of the ordinary and his stats are out of the ordinary too,” said Laurent Blanc, the Swede’s last coach in the French capital. Likening himself to a fine vintage, Ibra recently described himself in the following terms: “I think I’m getting better, even if I’m getting older. I’m like wine: I improve with age. I do not feel on the decline; quite the opposite. I think I'm stronger mentally. I still have a great hunger that will allow me to fulfil my goals.”

The Swede has been in the business for 17 years and Buffon for 21. When Gigi made his Serie A debut in November 1995, Paul Pogba, the youngest of the nominees for The Best Men’s Player award, was only 18 months old. Yet, the passing of the years does not seem to hamper either of these old rockers. As long they keep feeling the music, they will continue to grace the game’s biggest arenas.