Thiago Silva has insisted that he can play well into his 40s and in the form he is, it is hard to argue against him. The Chelsea star wants to emulate his hero Paolo Maldini and, at 37, is showing no signs of slowing down.
"I hope I can do the same thing that Maldini did at Milan, playing until he was 40 or 41 years old," Silva said. "That's my plan for the immediate future and I have prepared myself for that."
Reaching that decade for many means starting up bird-watching or mastering the BBQ at a family get-together. But for some it is just another year with the best athletes in the world able to continue their sport.
In football, that can be difficult when the young whippersnappers are biting down your heels and outpacing you at every turn. For those that do not quite feel like hanging up their boots, though, it is just like a walk in the park.
Over the years, there have been numerous players who have defied their body clocks to stay out on the pitch - even doing better than their earlier careers. Here are 10 of the best to carry on into the fourth decade of their lives.
Francesco Totti
One of the last true Romans, Totti never played anywhere else other than his beloved AS Roma - where he made his debut in 1992 and retired in 2017 at the age of 40. He scored 307 times for the Giallorossi in a city where only Julius Caesar is more famous.
Now Totti remains at Roma where he is a club director and was most recently spotted approving of Tammy Abraham's goalscoring exploits after scoring twice in the Rome derby against Lazio.
Roger Milla
Back at Italia '90, Milla shot to fame when he scored four times as a 38-year-old for Cameroon and he was pulled out of retirement four years later to try and repeat his feats at the United States World Cup. While the forward might not have been as successful as he was in his 30s, he still made history.
Milla's goal in a 6-1 thrashing of Russia made him the oldest scorer ever at a World Cup while he is also the oldest outfield player as well, at the age of 42 years, 1 month and 8 days.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
A fascinating career which just refuses to come to an end, Ibrahimovic's desire to keep silencing the doubters is truly incredible. The 40-year-old has played for almost all of the biggest clubs in Europe listing from Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United.
His country are on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup this winter and if Ibra is called up to the squad, he will likely become the second-oldest outfielder to play in the competition.
Claudio Pizarro
While some Chelsea fans might strain to remember the little impact Pizarro at the club, his Premier League flopping did nothing to halt his career. Werder Bremen fans would have been sick of the sight of him after he signed for them an astonishing five times.
His goal against RB Leipzig in 2019 made him the Bundesliga's oldest scorer at 40 and 227 days, though he did stay at the club another season. However, he failed to get on the scoresheet in his 18 matches the next year - retiring at the age of 41.
Teddy Sheringham
One of the more underrated strikers in England's recent history, Sheringham scored goals wherever he was in a career that's saw him play for the likes of Tottenham, United, Nottingham Forest and West Ham. In 2006, he became the oldest outfield player in the Premier League aged 40 and 270 days but did not retire until a year later after a short stint at Colchester United.
Javier Zanetti
One of the most durable players the world has ever seen, Zanetti's engine was quite simply astonishing - playing a total of 1,115 times for club and country. The former midfielder retired at 41 an Inter Milan legend, where they retired his No. 4 shirt.
Now a director at the San Siro outfit, Zanetti was known for his versatility where he played across defence and midfield.
Ryan Giggs
A change in position allowed Giggs to continue being a key star for United across three decade, where with the help of Sir Alex Ferguson, he became one of the club's best ever players. The Welshman moved from being an exciting winger to a deep-lying playmaker, making over 1,000 appearances for the Red Devils.
Giggs eventually retired at the age of 41 in 2014, having been a part of Fergie's greatest teams and winning 20 major honours along the way.
Gianluigi Buffon
It could be argued that Buffon is the greatest goalkeeper of all time and there would not be that many dissenters, the Italian has had a wide-ranging career at the very top. He made his debut in 1995, but is still playing 26 years later at the age of 44.
Now usually found between the posts at Parma in Serie B, Buffon might be one of the best players never to win the Champions League.
Stanley Matthews
Matthews might be one of the most remarkable players of all time due to the fact that he actually went on to play in his 50s, making those in their 40s look like pups. A Blackpool and Stoke legend, he played his last game five days after his 50th birthday - though he believed he could play for another two years.
The football legend was the first player to win the Ballon d'Or and is the only player to be knighted during his career.
Paolo Maldini
Arguably the greatest defender of all-time and the absolute epitome of elegance, Maldini never broke a sweat during his career - perhaps that is why he could carry on going for decades. The AC Milan legend finally decided to call it a day in 2009 when he retired at the age of 41.
Carrying on his legacy is his son, Daniel, who is coming through the ranks at the San Siro but has a long way to go to match his father's career.
