Like Mark Twain, rumours of his death - at least in footballing terms - may have been exaggerated.
It's a widely held view that this season Tim Cahill, who turns 38 in December, will be lacing up his boots for the last time.
The veteran Socceroo will help Australia to scrape into the World Cup, so goes the theory, playing a key role in the play-offs against Syria in October and, hopefully, against a Central or North American rival in November.
Then he will assist Melbourne City win its first league title - or go close, anyway - before bowing out in a blaze of glory in Russia, hopefully becoming just the fourth man in history to score at least one goal in four World Cup tournaments.
That would put him in exalted company, alongside the incomparable Pele and the two great Germans, Uwe Seeler (1958-70) and Miroslav Klose (2002-2014).
It reads like a fairytale script. But it's not one that the man himself has signed off on.
Great athletes need enormous reserves of self-belief. Sometimes that can lead them into errors of judgment, but other times it allows them to achieve things others cannot dream of.
Cahill believes that he is in great shape to approach his second season in the A-League and hasn't ruled out continuing his domestic career after the end of this season, even if it is hard to see him having any international future beyond this World Cup campaign.
"I am feeling good," he said, as he prepared for promotional commitments ahead of the new A-League season.
Asked whether this will be his last season, Cahill said it's way too early to make a call.
"The way my body is and the way I am feeling, I will concentrate on 27 games this year. Last year I was injured pretty much 40 per cent of the season and I played 23-plus internationals.
"This year I think I have upped my running data and really pushed myself. I am going to have a better year [and I am] on-track fitness wise. It will be a great test for me, but hopefully with the boss we can set out a plan. It's all about playing for me.
"That's why it's frustrating to be missing the start of the season [away with the Socceroos for the World Cup qualifier against Syria]. It affects your club and individuals. We need as many games as possible consistently to start a season. In my case it's frustrating but we will deal with it."
City struggled to replace Aaron Mooy and Harry Novillo last year and with their key forward Bruno Fornaroli out with injury for at least half the season, Cahill is under no illusion about the challenge the squad faces.
"This year is going to be a tough season for us as a group, we have lost a lot of quality, and we have brought in a few new players. It's now about improving on last year," he said.
So what would be a pass mark for City this year?
"I think you have to be looking for Asia. I think that's the biggest disappointment for me [that the club didn't make the Asian Champions League last season]," Cahill said.
"I wouldn't be as ambitious as to say we are going to win everything, we will let Sydney and the other clubs say that.
"I think we have just got to stay in our lane and watch what goes on. We have a lot of new players, a new manager [Warren Joyce] and we have to adapt to that as a group as soon as possible.
"We have to improve and see where we are after 10 games. Now we are out of the FFA Cup, the total focus has to be on looking for an Asian spot."
Is winning the league a realistic ambition?
"I think it would be naive for me to come out and say we are going to win everything. There's no point," Cahill said. "If you are going to win the league you are going to win it, what ever you say."
Cahill admits there is a lot less hype around the club this year compared to last, when his signing made big news. He believes that might be an advantage this time around.
"I like it like this. I think some of our players will flourish better. Under pressure of being the biggest and the best last year we should have done a lot better than we did," he said.
"This year I don't think there's a lot expected from the media or the public in general. We will be looking to be a team that's really building for something special this year, but not putting any pressure on ourselves.
"I suppose there was a lot of hype with me and Bruno being marquee class and some of the names, like [Fernando] Brandan and [Michael] Jakobsen coming in."
Cahill is certainly looking to enjoy himself in the twilight of his career.
"The pressure is off me, so I get to enjoy being a footballer in Australia and enjoy travelling around the country fully focused on football, rather than being like a player who has to do extra off the park or do any added things other than sign autographs after the game for the fans, which is what I am excited about this year."
