‘Like Maldini’ – Thiago Silva references Milan legend amid links to Rossoneri move

In the past few weeks, Thiago Silva’s name has been mentioned several times with many suggesting that he could aid AC Milan this season.

Despite being 41, Silva is still playing at a reasonably high level in Brazil, and during the Club World Cup, he showed that he is still able to perform against European opposition. So, the hypothesis about six months with Milan arose.

Right now, the Rossoneri need reinforcements, and ideally, they would be of a senior nature. However, where that cut-off lies is debatable. Sergio Ramos, who is in a similar bracket, has also been offered, but there has been no rush to take him off the market.

Silva and Maldini

Whilst he did not address the rumours about his future, the Brazilian spoke about his career to L’Equipe today, and referenced the career of a certain Paolo Maldini, who retired with the Rossoneri at the age of 41…

Nine years ago, in Belo Horizonte, after a Brazil-Argentina match (3-0), you told us this: ‘I hope to play until I’m 40, like Maldini!’ So it wasn’t a joke…

“It’s funny because we were talking about it just this morning with my team. We were discussing Paolo Maldini and the end of my career. The idea of ​​playing as long as possible took hold when I arrived at Milan in 2009.

Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images

“Maldini was playing his last six months, and I couldn’t be signed yet. But Carlo Ancelotti asked me to be present at all the games, at San Siro and away, to observe his preparation, his warm-ups, his routine up close.

“I understood that to have a long career, you have to make a lot of sacrifices. It was from that moment on that I changed my mentality and decided to become an athlete, not just a footballer,” he said via MilanNews.