Thiago Silva is pushing to abandon Chelsea and move back to his native Brazil this summer, it has been claimed.
Silva has been a hugely important player for Chelsea since joining the club from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2020. The 38-year-old has been a mainstay in central defence and was rewarded with a one-year contract extension back in February.
That deal, which was signed before Graham Potter’s departure, keeps him at the club until June 2024. However, the tumultuous events at Stamford Bridge this season appear to have worn Silva down and he is reportedly regretting his decision to commit his future to the club.
According to Globo Esporte, Silva is keen to tear up his Chelsea contract at the end of the season because he wants to move back to boyhood club Fluminense. The Rio de Janeiro-based side are second in Brazil’s Serie A and recently signed Real Madrid legend Marcelo.
Silva is close friends with Marcelo and has been tempted by the left-back to return home and play one final season before retiring. Marcelo isn’t the only one keen on the idea either, with club president Mario Bittencourt and ex-striker Fred also urging him to return to Fluminense.
Silva started his career with Fluminense and played there between 2007 and 2009 before heading to AC Milan and PSG. He was presented with an honorary No3 shirt by the club last year and, interestingly, that shirt remains unassigned at the moment.
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The veteran centre-back has played 32 times for Chelsea this season, but has been unable to prevent their miserable campaign, which sees them 11th in the Premier League. He is a vocal leader on the pitch and has not been shy in criticising the club’s direction off it too.
Chelsea have splashed £600million on players since co-owner Todd Boehly arrived last year without success. After they exited the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid, Silva let rip with his thoughts.
"I think the first step has been made," he said. "An incorrect step, but it has been made. We can't be blaming the managers if we don't take responsibility. It's a hard period for the club, with a lot of indecision.
"Change of ownership, new players arriving – we had to increase the size of the changing room because it didn't fit the size of the squad. A positive point is that there are amazing players in the squad but on the other hand there are always players that are going to be unhappy.
"There is always going to be someone upset because not everyone can play. The manager can only pick 11 from a squad of 30-something – that's tough. Some can't make the squad, we signed eight in January, we need to stop and put a strategy in place otherwise next season we could make the same mistakes."
