AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini said on Friday he had decided to delay his retirement by a season.

"I had decided to give up, but as the club asked me to continue I spoke to the coach and my team mates and they agreed and I decided to carry on," Maldini told the Serie A club's in-house TV channel.

"I like playing football and I believe I can still do it well."

Milan said on their Web site (www.acmilan.com) that Maldini's contract had been extended until June 30 2009.

The one-club player, who turns 40 later this month, has won five Champions League/European Cups and seven Serie A titles during his 23-year stint in Milan's first team.

He had planned to quit in May, but had been expected to bow to pressure from club bosses and team mates to play another season.

Italian media had reported in recent days that the defender was again thinking of quitting because of differences with the club over his contract renewal, but officials' confidence that these could be smoothed over turned out to be justified.

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