Chelsea defender Thiago Silva wants to play into his 40s.

Thiago Silva, 37, has been nothing short of sensational since his free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in 2020.

He told Chelsea's official website: “I hope I can do the same thing that Maldini did at Milan, playing until he was 40 or 41 years old.

“That's my plan for the immediate future and I have prepared myself for that.

“When you're young, you think you're a superhero. I'd play one game a day, so in terms of recovery it was a lot quicker.

“Whereas now 24 hours seems like no time at all in which to recover.

“You've always got to be active and up to speed with the new recovery methods out there.

“I've got lots of things I do at home like physio work, and nowadays I've got a better diet than before. You need to fuel yourself well, not with the bad stuff.

“This is part of what I've got to do so that I can optimise this recovery process, which for me needs to be quicker."