There was a time in the early 2000s when Juan Sebastian Veron was considered one of the best midfielders in the world.

After shining for Lazio under Sven-Goran Eriksson, Sir Alex Ferguson parted with £28.1 million to sign the Argentine playmaker in 2001 and bring him to Manchester United.

Although his spell at Old Trafford failed to live up to the billing in some minds, he won the Premier League in just his second season with the club.

Veron started his career playing for Argentine outing Estudiantes back in 1994 before going on to play for Boca Juniors, Lazio, Manchester United and Chelsea.

He then returned to Estudiantes – initially on loan from Chelsea – in 2006 before ending his career there in 2014 at the ripe old age of 40.

Considering the way that injuries had blighted his career from his early thirties onwards, it's remarkable he made it that far.

'Sabre' incredibly came out of retirement at the back end of 2016 to return for Estudiantes, however, there was a delay in him actually seeing the pitch thanks to a ban stretching back from 2011.

The 73-time Argentina international put pen to paper on an 18-month deal, and will donate all his wages to the development of the club.

Veron made his fourth debut for the club on Tuesday as 10-man Estudiantes went down 2-0 to Group 1 leaders Barcelona. No, not that one - they were busy getting thumped 3-0 in Turin. Barcelona SC are the Ecuadorian champions.

Estudiantes are managed by former Arsenal defender Nelson Vivas and are sitting rock bottom of Group 1 in the Copa Libertadores. They are, however, third in the Argentine Primera Division, six points behind league leaders, Boca Juniors.

Veron lasted an hour before being substituted, but it will be interesting to see how he performs should he see out his deal and reach 44-years-old.