“I want to play five more years,’’ said the closer, who turns 40 later this month.

Was that the champagne and euphoria talking, or will opposing teams still be dealing with Rivera’s cut fastball in the ninth inning of games in 2014? Such were the emotions after the Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3, to clinch their 27th championship.

Rivera, who has one year remaining on his contract, insisted he was serious. Given how the Yankees are set up, why wouldn’t he be?

The free agent signings of starting pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett last winter along with first baseman Mark Teixeira added youth and talent to an aging core of players who won four championships under Joe Torre from 1996-2000.

For Rivera, that was the difference after a 2008 season that saw the Yankees finish in third place in the American League East.

“Definitely, this one feels special. I think we have accomplished something that was missing,’’ he said. “I think they finally got the pitching. The two best [starters] who were out there and the best first baseman completed our team.’’

The season started in turmoil when it was revealed that third baseman Alex Rodriguez used performance-enhancing drugs while a member of the Texas Rangers earlier in the decade. Rodriguez then underwent hip surgery in March and did not return to the team until May 8. The Yankees were 13-15 prior to that.

But once Rodriguez returned, the Yankees had the best record in baseball, finishing with 103 victories. Playoff victories against the Twins, Angels, and Phillies followed.

“It feels like Thanksgiving already,’’ Teixeira said. “That’s how long this season was.’’

For the Yankees, the gap between championships had become frustrating given their resources and expectations.

“I can’t be more happy than I am right now. It’s amazing,’’ Rivera said. “I never tried to forget. But when you’re in there, you know how much you miss it. You find out definitely how much you miss being in this position, to be the last team standing. To win the whole thing is priceless. It tells you how hard it is, we didn’t even make the playoffs last year.’’

Rivera did his part as well as ever. He appeared in 12 of the 15 postseason games the Yankees played, allowing one run over 16 innings and striking out 14. Six appearances were longer than one inning, and he had five saves.

The righthander from Panama has thrown the final pitch to clinch a World Series four times. He is 8-1 with 39 saves and an 0.74 ERA in 88 career postseason appearances.

Rivera revealed that he pitched in the Series with a rib injury that required daily treatments. He wore a heating pad in the bullpen to try to stay loose before entering games.

“I’m not sure what would have happened if it got worse,’’ he said. “Thank God it did not.’’

Rivera got the final five outs of the clincher, throwing 41 pitches. The final out did not come easily. Shane Victorino fouled off four two-strike pitches before grounding to Robinson Cano at second base.

Teixeira, who until this season had played in only four postseason games in his career, said he did not feel the ball land in his glove. He then gave it to Johnny Damon.

“I’m not sure where it is now,’’ Teixeira said. “We were passing it around a little bit. It was in my glove and we started cheering and everything, and now I’m not sure where it is.’’

An accomplished player statistically, Teixeira appeared relieved to have a championship on his résumé.

“Every season I get home, I look at the stats and I think, ‘That’s nice, but I’m watching the World Series,’ ’’ he said. “This year I don’t even care about the stats or what I did this season or what I did in the playoffs. I don’t care about anything because it’s about the team winning a championship.

“For the rest of my life, I get to say I played on a world championship New York Yankees team. You never know how you’re going to feel. But I do feel like a different person. For the first time in seven years, I accomplished the goal that we set out at the beginning of the season.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen in the first year. But we clicked right away and once Alex came back, we really started rolling. We had so much fun all year and it showed in the end.’’

The Yankees will celebrate their championship today with a ticker-tape parade through the streets of lower Manhattan, their first since 2000.

“I can’t wait,’’ Rivera said before leaving to seek a shower. “It is satisfaction. It is greatness.’’