AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini rates Napoli legend Diego Maradona as his toughest opponent.

"To be a great defender you need to be attentive and have the physical characteristics of a true athlete, because you will meet forwards who can overpower you and there you'll need to play with intelligence," he told Sky Italia.

"I think the absolute best opponent I ever faced was Diego Maradona, although in his first two years at Inter, Ronaldo was also phenomenal.

"I consider my career to be fun, as I cannot see football as work. If it was, I'd have already retired a few years ago."