With Michael Carrick's outstanding testimonal coming a week after Henrik Larsson put a team of legends against that of fellow Celtic hero Lubo Moravcik, there's a hell of a lot of love for friendly matches featuring retired pros going around right now.
What's not to love? Your favourite players from days gone by reliving the glory days and inevitably having a laugh in the process, while the games can sometimes be a bit dull sometimes, there's no denying that most football fans get a kick out of seeing who's still got it and who has packed on the pounds after hanging up their boots.
The likes of Clarence Seedorf, Ryan Giggs, and Park-Ji Sung wowed the crowd at Old Trafford and clearly haven't lost it, and up in Glasgow King Henrik bagged himself a first-half hat-trick, which proves that they can still play the damn game, so what if we took them out of that 'friendly' mindset and game them something to play for?
Masters Football is something a lot of people miss on our televisions. I know that from the reaction to a feature I published last year literally pondering what the hell happened to it, but it's gone, because people lot interest at seeing the same group of old pros Sky could get in touch with and convince to play a bit of ball.
But what if?.. What if it wasn't a TV station behind it, rather something bigger, say a Netflix, or even the FA and the Premier League doing something official? Or what if FIFA set up a tournament for nations of players who don't actively play anymore? Every club seems to announce a new 'ambassador' every week, how about if this was part of their job description?
It sounds far-fetched, and it absolutely is, but dream with me here.
I find it frustrating seeing how much talent has retired in the past decade or so, and there are so many names that people would still pay good money to see play, stream it live on YouTube, or Facebook Live, and surely it would see crazy numbers.
I've gone ahead and listed 'Masters' squads for the biggest UK based sides, literally off the top of my head, just to get an idea as to the spectacle that could be achieved if someone with infinitely more contacts and money than I got involved.
I've tried to avoid people that are actively coaching or doing something that requires all of their commitment, and there will be a few omissions and errors so feel free to get in touch with who you'd like to see...
But imagine...
Manchester United:
Paul Scholes
Ryan Giggs
Edwin Van Der Sar
Park Ji-Sung
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Phil Neville - He's fitter than Gary, and could throw as many stepovers as he likes.
Nemanja Vidic
Rio Ferdinand
David Beckham
Louis Saha
Liverpool:
Steven Gerrard
Jamie Carragher
Luis Garcia
Didi Hamann
Dirk Kuyt
Jerzy Dudek
Steve Finnan - If you can find him.
John Arne Riise
Robbie Fowler
Steve McManaman
Arsenal:
Thierry Henry - Va va voom.
Martin Keown
Lee Dixon
Robert Pires
Ray Parlour
Freddie Ljungberg
Jens Lehmann
Marc Overmars
Kolo Toure
Dennis Bergkamp
Chelsea:
Frank Lampard
Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink
Mario Melchiot
Claude Makelele
Joe Cole
Damien Duff
Ricardo Carvalho
Celestine Babayaro - On the condition that he still can and is willing to do his flips if he scores.
Eidur Gudjohnson
Carlo Cudicini
READ HERE: Alexis Mac Allister Can Trace His Irish Ancestry To A Cottage In Donabate
Manchester City:
Richard Dunne
Shay Given
Shaun Goater
Martin Petrov
Danny Mills - Most Man City fan-favourites are still playing for Man City to be totally honest.
Benjani
Elano
Sylvain Distin
Wayne Bridge
Michael Johnson
Celtic:
Henrik Larsson
Rab Douglas
Bobo Balde - The people want more Bobo.
Stiliyan Petrov
Chris Sutton
John Hartson
Johan Mjallby
Didier Agathe
Lubo Moravcik
Neil Lennon
Rangers:
Barry Ferguson
Kris Boyd - On pitch scrap with Sutton an inevitability.
Dado Prso
Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Stefan Klos
Peter Lovenkrands
Frank de Boer
Ronald de Boer
Alex Rae
Lorenzo Amoruso
And while we're here, an international tournament would also be insane...
Republic of Ireland:
Damien Duff
Shay Given
Richard Dunne
Clinton Morisson
Kevin Kilbane
Keith Andrews
Stephen Hunt
Gary Breen
Matt Holland
Kenny Cunningham
England:
Rio Ferdinand
Paul Scholes
Steven Gerrard
Frank Lampard
Gary Neville
Jamie Carragher
Alan Shearer
Ian Wright
David James
Joe Cole
Scotland:
Barry Ferguson
Kris Boyd
Rab Douglas
Jackie McNamara
Gary McAllister
Paul Hartley
Gary Caldwell
Don Hutchinson
Steven Pressley
Graham Alexander
Wales:
Ryan Giggs
John Hartson
Craig Bellamy
Robbie Savage
Jason Koumas
Simon Davies
Paul Jones
Robbie Earnshaw
Danny Gabbidon
Carl Robinson
And let's say it got even more international..
France:
Thierry Henry
Eric Abidal
Robert Pires
Emmanuel Petit
Fabien Barthez
Marcel Desailly
Claude Makelele
David Trezeguet
Bixente Lizarazu
Mikael Silvestre
Italy:
Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Nesta
Genaro Gattuso
Francesco Toldo
Fabrizio Ravanelli
Paolo Maldini
Gianluca Zambrotta
Mauro Camoranesi
Gianfranco Zola
Francesco Totti?
Spain:
Luis Enrique
Raul
Carlos Marchena
Juan Carlos Valeron
Germany:
Michael Ballack
Didi Hamann
Miroslav Klose
Carsten Ramelow
Jens Lehmann
Oliver Bierhoff
Arne Friedrich
Christoph Metzelder
Carsten Jancker
Gerald Asamoah
Brazil:
Ronaldinho
Rivaldo
Lucio
Ze Roberto
Robero Carlos
Dida
Gilberto Silva
Juninho
Juliano Belletti
Denilson
Argentina:
Juan Roman Riquelme
Hernan Crespo
Ariel Ortega
Pablo Aimar
Leo Franco
Roberto Ayala
Gabriel Heinze
Javier Saviola
Juan Pablo Sorin
Walter Samuel
So that's it, a dream, an almost certainly impossible one, but a fun one.
Even if you couldn't get all of those big names, we know for a fact that half of them would be up for it, so a watered-down version would still be a decent spectacle.
But no, transfer news all summer it is.
