Paolo Maldini – 47 years of sexy football…

Paolo Maldini, football's most attractive man (sorry Olivier), turns 47 today.

While contenders have come and gone, Paolo has stood firm, as has his awe-inspiring head of hair. Now, with help from the excellent Old School Panini and Vintage Footy, we can take a look at how the cocky teenager became the idolised one-club man. https://twitter.com/OldSchoolPanini/status/460166482408656896 Maldini was just 17 when he was given the number three shirt at Milan in the 1985/86 season, playing alongside the likes of Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta. https://twitter.com/OldSchoolPanini/status/405325819683160065 He broke into the Italian first team in 1988, before representing his country on home soil two years later in his first World Cup. https://twitter.com/OldSchoolPanini/status/456054110987374593 It took until the mid-90s for Maldini's recognisable mane to assert itself https://twitter.com/VintageFooty/status/590914455246077952 He played his last game for the Azzurri back in 2002, but carried on at the top for years after that. https://twitter.com/VintageFooty/status/571292697639718913 Those piercing eyes have seen everything there is to see, or at least that's what he thought - this photo was taken before the 2005 Champions League final, when his early goal was not enough to see off Liverpool. His career came to an end in 2009 after a remarkable 24 seasons at Milan, and it was an emotional moment for the 40-year-old. Maldini finished with seven Serie A titles, five European Cup winner's medals, five European Super Cups, five Italian Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, a Club World Cup, a Coppa Italia and, most importantly, a place in all our hearts.