Chelsea defender Thiago Silva hopes to play into his 40s - just like former AC Milan teammate Paolo Maldini.
When Silva moved to Milan in 2009, he was coming in to act as a replacement of sorts for club legend Paolo Maldini, who was retiring that year at the age of 40 following a trophy-laden 25-year career at the San Siro.
Though the pair never played together, Silva admits to being inspired by Maldini to play as long as he can, with the age of 40 a milestone he wants to reach.
"Those last six months of his career were the six months when I had arrived at Milan and couldn't play," Silva recalled.
Silva admits he is inspired by Paolo Maldini, who played into his 40s at centre back for Milan
"I identified a lot with Paulo and in this little interaction that I had with him, I could see that suddenly I was preparing well and could reach 40 years of age playing wherever I wanted, you know.
"And Paulo, for sure, he's certainly somebody that I greatly admired, a mirror so that I can reach these 40 years, which is the age I have in my head that maybe I could end my career."
