Serie A has garnered a reputation for becoming a bit of a retirement home in recent years, in contrast to the days when it was the place to be for the top stars of the era.

The likes of Luka Modric (40), Kevin De Bruyne (35) and Paulo Dybala (32) are among the once world-class stars still keeping their individual flames alive in Serie A.

But what about the players who might have faded from your memory?

Inspired by David Alaba signing for Udinese after his release by Real Madrid (wait, does that mean he’s off to Watford next year?), we’ve taken a closer look at some forgotten ballers he’ll be joining in Italy’s top flight.

Serie A just made sense as a next stop for an ageing Matic as his time with Manchester United wound down. The fact Jose Mourinho was the one wanting to take him to Roma certainly helped his 2022 move.

Matic impressed in Rome, playing in a Europa League final, but only lasted a year there before a surprise exit. The midfielder has since clarified it was due to unkept promises over a longer contract.

But after two years in France, spent with Rennes and Lyon, Matic fancied a bit more Serie A and so returned to Italy with Sassuolo last summer.

And yep, he’s still got it. Don’t be fooled by him rocking up at Soccer Aid in the summer. He made 34 appearances last season and is still bossing it at the age of 38. Like a fine wine.

Speaking of forgotten ballers, his manager at Sassuolo now, only four years his senior, is Alberto Aquilani. Remember him?

Yep, turns out he does have a club and isn’t just someone who randomly appears whenever there’s an international tournament.

Switzerland’s second most-capped player of all time after Granit Xhaka, Rodriguez spent the summer as a free agent after being released by Real Betis.

In September, the left-back returned to Torino for a second spell there after playing more than 100 times for them between 2020 and 2024.

His original Torino spell marked an extension of his time in Serie A after playing for AC Milan from 2017.

Rodriguez has made just one substitute appearance since his return to Torino.

We’re trying to steer away from too many Italians here, but Bernardeschi is definitely worth a shout.

The flashy former Fiorentina and Juventus winger left Serie A behind in 2022 to join Toronto FC, where he played with compatriots Lorenzo Insigne and Domenico Criscito.

Bernardeschi hasn’t played for Italy since he headed across the pond, but resumed his Serie A career in 2025 by joining Bologna.

Now 32, he scored nine goals from 45 games last season, more than half of those goals coming in the Europa League.

There was a time when it felt like all of Europe envied Sevilla for their centre-back pairing of Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde, which helped them win the Europa League in 2020.

In truth, while Carlos was more imposing, Kounde was always the better talent, even if it’s had to be as a right-back that he’s eventually built a career for himself at the top level with Barcelona.

The more error-prone Carlos has had a more eclectic career path since, playing for Aston Villa and then Fenerbahce.

The Turkish side are still his current employers but have sent him on loan to Serie A for the past couple of seasons. He was part of the Como side that qualified for the Champions League last season, but hasn’t stuck around for that European adventure.

Instead, the 33-year-old now temporarily belongs to Parma, who he joined on deadline day. He’s started all three of their Serie A games since his move under the guidance of former Arsenal assistant Carlos Cuesta, who’s two years younger than him.

On the topic of former Arsenal employees, Kolasinac has recently embarked on his fourth season in Serie A with Atalanta.

The left-footed defender only played in half of Atalanta’s league games last season, but has played in four out of five so far this term.

Maurizio Sarri has switched Atalanta’s shape to a back four, meaning Kolasinac has been able to play in his natural left-back role again after being part of a back three last season.

After five years with Atletico Madrid, Hermoso became a free agent in 2024, when Manchester United looked into signing him.

In the end, he went to Roma instead, as one of two replacements for ex-United defender Chris Smalling.

Hermoso’s first season as a Roma player was turbulent. After a shaky start, he was shipped out on loan to Bayer Leverkusen just a few months in.

But Hermoso got a second chance last summer and took it, going on to play in 27 league games for Roma last season after finding more favour under new coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

Hermoso, who earned five Spain caps across 2018 and 2019, has been a regular starter on the left of Roma’s back three this season as well.

Like Hermoso, Mina is someone who wound up in Serie A as a free agent after five years elsewhere – Everton, in his case – and had a rocky start before settling.

Indeed, his time with Fiorentina, after joining in summer 2023, was short lived. The Colombian defender moved on after just half a season to Cagliari, where he signed a short-term deal.

He has stuck around longer than expected, now entering a fourth season with the Sardinian side. He made his first appearance of the season in the last game before the international break.

Not quite a household name, but just a few years ago whilst at Hoffenheim, Grillitsch used to attract a handful of links with a Premier League move.

A quick refresher via Google reminds us that Arsenal, Tottenham, Brighton and Leeds were all touted as potential destinations for the midfielder within the past five years or so.

Instead, he left Hoffenheim for Ajax before retracing his steps and later playing for Valladolid and Braga.

It’s not the glossiest CV, but it’s an impressive enough one for his arrival at Frosinone this summer to be seen as a coup for the recently promoted side.

The 31-year-old was playing Europa League football with Braga last season. He’s only managed eight minutes in Serie A so far, though, and Frosinone are flying (sixth place is dizzy heights for a club who have only ever gone straight back down when promoted to Serie A) in his absence.

OK, De Gea isn’t a ‘forgotten’ player. His lengthy spell with Manchester United isn’t too distant a memory. But he risked that becoming the case when he spent a year out of the game after his release at Old Trafford.

It was Fiorentina who eventually came to De Gea’s rescue, signing him as a free agent in 2024.

Since then, the Spaniard has got back on track with 21 clean sheets from 77 Serie A games. Not bad going when the team he plays for finished 15th last season.

One of those that makes you go: Is he really still there?

Milik signed for Juventus in the summer of 2022, returning to Serie A after a previous spell with Napoli.

His extensive injury issues make it hard to keep track, but turns out he’s still on Juve’s books four years later.

He’s only been able to play twice over the past two seasons, though, meaning he’s probably even a forgotten baller for Juve fans.

Decent striker in his prime, though. Tall, clinical and averaging a goal about every three games at Napoli – often while playing second fiddle to some other striker – Milik is a ‘what might have been’ kind of player.

Here’s a bit of a blast from the past for the more seasoned Serie A fans. Keita rose to fame at Lazio after making his debut in 2013, not taking too long to become one of the league’s most exciting wingers.

He scored 16 goals in his fourth and final season with Lazio before leaving for Monaco. He later returned to Serie A for one season each with Inter, Sampdoria and Cagliari, but from those three seasons combined, he fell one short of the number of goals he’d scored at the end of his original Italian spell.

Time in Russia, Spain and Turkey followed as Keita became something of a footballing nomad.

Serie A came calling again in February 2025, when Keita joined Monza. They suffered relegation at the end of that season, consigning him to a first taste of Serie B, but he stuck at it and is still part of the squad that came back up via the play-offs.

The one-time West Ham target is yet to feature this season, though.

READ MORE: Serie A glow-ups: How McTominay, Gilmour & others have blossomed in Italy