Thiago Silva, who arrived free of any contract after eight years at PSG, explained his choice to join Chelsea. At almost 36 years of age, the Brazilian says that Frank Lampard’s speech, against whom he has played several times, has been very important.
After eight years at PSG, Thiago Silva has turned the page. The 35-year-old central defender is leaving a club that had relied on him to launch a global project in the early 2010s. There will have been a lot of contributions despite some empty passages in key matches. Despite a very late contract extension proposal from Leonardo and his team, the Brazilian preferred to look elsewhere at almost 36 years of age (he will have them on 24 September), in a club that would consider him a little more. It was at Chelsea that he landed, where he participated in an important period of the English club, rebuilding after a year without a rookie.
“First and foremost, I came because Chelsea is an incredible team and one of the biggest clubs in the world. It helps to be greeted so warmly, especially by a coach (Frank Lampard) who played until recently. In football, there are very strong preconceived ideas about the age of the players. But I know his experience when he arrived at Manchester City at the end of his career (Lampard was 36 at the time). He has endured the same kind of things as me,” says the former PSG captain, visibly grateful to his England coach six years his senior only. Not yet physically ready, the international (89 caps, 7 goals) trains hard to make himself available quickly
Thiago Silva is still hungry for titles
In this interview with the club media, Thiago Silva even explains that the main argument of his coming to Chelsea is Frank Lampard. “From the outside, without knowing me personally, he knows how hard I work to stay at the highest level. The confidence he showed me was all that was needed. For me, that trust was the most important factor. Hearing that he believed in me, that he thought I could come here and make a positive contribution. With our young group, as well as more experienced players like our captain Azpilicueta, we have everything we need for a great season,” says the man who signed a one-year contract, plus an optional year in order to play in the 2022 World Cup.
Banned from recruitment last summer, the English club was well relieved during this Mercato with the expensive arrivals of Ziyech, Chilwell, Havertz, and Werner for around 220 million euros, in addition to Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr landed as free agents. In addition to the young players who managed to lift the Blues to 4th place in the Premier League, Chelsea now has enough to play the big arms again in the league. “What motivates me, day after day is the thirst to win. Coming to the Premier League, my main goal is to win the league title and I’m sure we’ll fight for that every game. The team is really strong, we have a great coach and I came here to contribute in every way possible to make sure we get as close as possible to those goals.” With three goals conceded in two matches, the Blues defense will need a Thiago Silva at his best.
