Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva has expressed his desire to continue his career until he is 40 years old.
The 36-year-old admires the longevity that Italian legend Paolo Maldini managed in his career, when he represented AC Milan for 25 years as a senior player, eventually hanging up his boots in 2009 at the age of 41.
Silva made his senior debut for Fluminense in 2006 and after moves to AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, the Brazilian has racked up 548 club appearances across his career.
Speaking in a Brazil press conference, Silva said: "I hope I can do the same thing that Paolo Maldini did at Milan, playing until he was 40 or 41 years old.
"That's my plan for the immediate future. I have prepared myself for that and now at 36 years old I continue to play at a high level and that gives me a great deal of pride.
"From this moment on I have to live each season and each competition, play very carefully because my physique is no longer the same as it was two or three years ago and the recovery from one game to another takes longer."
Silva's international career is still going strong after making his first-team debut in 2008, he has gone on to earn 94 caps for Brazil.
Sammy Wynne
