Joao Pedro added his name to a proud Brazilian lineage when he joined Chelsea in the middle of the Club World Cup.
Pedro joined the Blues from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 2025, following in the footsteps of Brazilian players like David Luiz, Oscar, Ramires and Willian.
Before making the switch to west London, Pedro consulted with fellow Brazilian Thiago Silva, who played for Chelsea between 2020 and 2024.
Joao Pedro on the advice of ex-Chelsea defender Thiago Silva
"How can I disagree with The Monster?" Pedro asks FourFourTwo.
"He’s an enlightened person – very special indeed. He showed me that side of caring about the details in my daily life and warned me about never thinking that things are good enough, about always wanting more."
"He lives and breathes football – it’s no coincidence that he’s still been able to play at a high level with Fluminense, even at 41 years old.
"Even today he’s still one of the best defenders in the world, so he knows what he’s talking about.”
Thiago Silva is in his third spell with Fluminense, where he started as a youth in 1998 and later played for three seasons after returning from his first stint in European football.
The Brazilian defender, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2020/21 and has enjoyed a hugely successful career including trophies won with AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, signed for the Rio de Janeiro giants in 2024.
He played 113 times for the senior Brazilian national team, winning Copa America in 2019.
Joao Pedro, 24, is still in the early stages of his international career. After making his Brazil debut a few months after joining Brighton in 2023, he has won a handful of caps and is yet to get off the mark in a yellow shirt.
He scored three goals at the Club World Cup in the United States in the days after joining Chelsea.
Two of them came in the semi-final against Fluminense, the former club he shares with the mentor he calls 'The Monster'.
