There were many who thought Thiago Motta would have been deep into retirement by the age of 35. A snapped anterior cruciate ligament at Barcelona in his early 20s badly hampered his development and there were fears for his career at 26 when his injury problems were so dire he was released by Atlético Madrid.

It was at this time, the summer of 2008, that Harry Redknapp gave Motta a trial for Portsmouth against Sunderland. Redknapp liked what he saw but had his doubts about the player’s knee and mobility, as did other potential suitors. Given that such a brittle joint had to hold up a 6ft 2in rugged frame it hardly seemed plausible that it would still be doing so nine years later, with Motta a central figure in a Paris Saint-German side oozing talent and heavily fancied to win the Champions League..

That Motta has won 16 trophies since then while recently fending off younger more skilful midfielders year after year at PSG is testament to his consistency. But what is it exactly that he is consistent at doing? Motta does not impress himself on a game with athletic ability (though he can tackle and he’s well-versed in the dark arts), he can hit the ball sweetly but does not score many goals, and, although his passing is accurate, his distribution is usually of the no-frills variety. He is one of those rare players whose presence itself appears to be his standout quality, the rug in the room you notice most when it’s gone. Motta was conspicuous by his absence, for instance, in that 6-1 hammering in Barcelona. And with PSG in control and pushing for a second goal when the score was 1-1 against Marseille last week, it is no coincidence they conceded shortly after replacing him with the more forward-thinking Julian Draxler.

For a club often said to lack history and character, perhaps it is no surprise that PSG have placed so much value in a player brimming with both. He is their continuity man. “Thiago Motta is an important member of the squad and his leadership and knowledge of the game are really appreciated by our supporters,” said the club’s president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, when the naturalised Italian extended his contract in July after a second season in succession when it was rumoured he would retire or move on.

PSG receive an awful lot of criticism for so often leaning on the huge wealth at their disposal to solve problems but they deserve credit for being able to see the worth in holding on to an experienced player when many elite clubs cannot.

Thiago Motta missed the 2010 Champions League final after being harshly sent off against Barcelona. Photograph: Victor R. Caivano/Associated Press

But even now, in his latter years, Motta is not just at the club to regale the dressing room with tales of battles of yore. Unai Emery had enough faith in him to let the €30m (£26.8m) holding midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak join West Bromwich Albion on a season’s loan and he has started 12 of the 14 games in PSG’s so far unbeaten Neymar era despite a minor injury in the past month that has ruled him out of Friday’s game against Nice.

So what does Emery think Motta brings to his team? “He has given a lot to those who have been able to work with him and he has a very specific style on the pitch,” he said last season, without elaborating on what that style is.

José Mourinho, who made Motta a metronomic fixture in midfield during Internazionale’s 2009-10 treble-winning season, spoke glowingly of the player soon after he joined PSG. “His position is very well adapted and he understands the qualities and the philosophy of Paris,” he said. “They want the ball so they’ll have it. In his position, he organises, he gives tempo. He’s a fantastic player.”

He also used his status in the dressing room recently to defuse the row between Neymar and Edinson Cavani over penalty duties by telling them both to grow up.

To be cold and calculated about what Motta does, stand back and admire his 94% completed passing stats in Ligue 1 this season. Or his 142 touches of the ball when PSG dismantled Celtic in the Champions League, after which his midfield partner Marco Verratti said: “I hope he never stops playing. Thiago is so intelligent that his age does not matter.”

He’s the rug in the room that you notice most when it is gone

Motta’s on-pitch movement (never hurried) is always economical. And unlike players who have it all to prove, he never wastes a yard. Closing off space when defending and creating it during attacking transitions are qualities that are never fully appreciated by casual observers. But Motta is adept at both. When you have played the game for as long as he has, understanding space and movement comes naturally.

In 2003, when he was 20, Motta was asked by the Barcelona manager, Radomir Antic, to take on the mammoth task of shackling Zinedine Zidane in the Clásico at the Bernabéu. He did it perfectly, limiting the Frenchman’s influence and allowing his struggling side (they finished sixth that season) to pick up a point against the eventual champions. He was earmarked as a future destroyer, having grabbed Zidane by the throat while bullying him all around the Bernabéu.

But his injury problems meant that he could never make the rabble-rousing defensive midfield role at the Camp Nou his own. He was on the Stade de France bench watching Edmilson and Mark van Bommel in his position win the Champions League final against Arsenal in 2006. But the point is that Motta, when still wet behind the ears, displayed the kind of supreme authority and game intelligence many players never come close to throughout their careers, no matter how long they go on for. His reading of the game has always been greater than most. And it has grown through his years at Genoa (where he played further forward), Inter and PSG. And it is that invisible quality – as well as his aura – that the French club value so highly.

Zinedine Zidane struggles to shake off Thiago Motta at the Bernabéu. Photograph: EPA

But perhaps trying to pigeon-hole Motta is to miss the point. We should celebrate the fact that older players of his ilk, with a more subtle skillset, are able to survive in the modern era. He regularly has younger, more alluring sidekicks in Verratti and Draxler alongside him in midfield. He also has the youthful exuberance of Adrien Rabiot as competition for the holding role in PSG’s 4-3-3 and saw off Blaise Matuidi’s combative presence. Matuidi joined Juventus in the summer. Finding the right blend of youth and experience in teams is essential and often overlooked. How Spurs, Arsenal or Liverpool could have done with a player of Motta’s self-assuredness amid recent failed attempts to win the league title.

Motta’s qualities took a long time to earn international recognition – he was 29 when first capped. Perhaps it should come as little surprise that it was Italy, a nation never fearful of fielding older players, and not Brazil (the country of his birth) that recognised him. So many players are undervalued when they reach their 30s with the preference being to field footballers in their prime or with their peak years still ahead of them. Perhaps Premier League sides would have performed better in recent Champions League campaigns had there been a few more wise heads among them.

When Liverpool sold Lucas Leiva shortly after his 30th birthday there was sadness among many supporters who were able to overlook his limited craft and athleticism because he so often had a stabilising effect when he played in midfield. He was the beer mat under the table who could help bring balance when his side were rocking. Many Manchester United fans feel Michael Carrick, a supreme and rhythmic passer and hugely effective tempo man, was forced into the background too soon. But Motta has survived at PSG in a similar holding role.

Finding the right balance in midfield is not only about tactics and making sure players cover the hard yards. It is about knowledge, influence, intelligence. Motta is not a genius but he is an important player making the case for old heads in a game that these days seems to be putting too much value on youth.