Chelsea's Thiago Silva is pondering his future after football
Chelsea defender Thiago Silva is not sure what he'll do after retirement, but admits the end of his career is fast approaching.
Thiago Silva is a Brazilian soccer player who plays as a centre back for Chelsea. Having risen to prominence while on the books of AC Milan, he captained Paris Saint-Germain during an era of unprecedented success for the French club. He then moved to London to play for the Blues in 2020.
Silva has also been a stalwart for the Brazil national team in recent years.
After three successful years at AC Milan, which saw Silva pick up the 2010/11 Serie A title, the Brazilian centre-back joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2012. The transfer negotiations took some time, but eventually, for a reported fee of around €42million, then PSG boss Carlo Ancelotti got his man.
Silva insisted he never pushed for a move to PSG, but reports suggested that AC Milan had to sell him in order to balance their books. His departure, along with that of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, proved a turning point for Milan and they did not win another Serie A title throughout the duration of Silva's eight-year stint at PSG.
Silva picked up an incredible seven Ligue 1 titles in eight seasons during his spell at Paris Saint-Germain. The only season in which they missed out was 2016/17, when they finished second behind Monaco.
At the end of the 2019/20 season, Silva captained Paris Saint-Germain against Bayern Munich as the French club appeared in the UEFA Champions League final for the first time. Bayern won 1-0 thanks to a 59th-minute winner from Kingsley Coman, who previously played for PSG alongside Silva. Although he was on the losing side, Silva had the honour of becoming the first Brazilian to captain a team in the Champions League final.
Silva made his debut in the League Cup in a 6-0 win over Barnsley at Stamford Bridge. In his first Premier League appearance a misplaced pass led to a goal in a 3-3 draw with West Bromwich Albion. He opened his account for the Blues in a 4-1 win over Sheffield United.
Silva made Brazil's preliminary Copa America squad in 2007, but was not selected to take part in the tournament, which the Selecao won. He also played in Brazil's 2008 Olympic campaign.
Silva earned plaudits for his impressive performance against Cristiano Ronaldo in Brazil's 6-2 win over Portugal in 2008. However, he was an unused substitute in all of Brazil's 2010 World Cup matches. The Selecao were eliminated from the tournament after a 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands at the quarter-final stage. Mano Menezes announced Silva as national team captain when he took over as head coach ahead of the next World Cup qualifying campaign.
Silva won his first international trophy with Brazil in the 2013 Confederations Cup. However, they were eliminated 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals of the following year's World Cup on home soil. Silva missed the infamous match due to suspension, the result of a yellow card in the 2-1 quarter-final success against Colombia.
Silva went to the 2015 Copa America under Dunga, but Neymar and then Miranda captained the team. The Selecao were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Paraguay, again via a penalty shootout.
He once again took part in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but Brazil lost to Belgium 2-1 in the quarter-finals. However, Silva picked up another major honour the following year as Brazil won the Copa America.
Chelsea defender Thiago Silva is not sure what he'll do after retirement, but admits the end of his career is fast approaching.
Mauricio Pochettino admitted he empathised with Thiago Silva's frustration after the defender appeared to lose his temper with Chelsea teammates during their goalless draw at Bournemouth on Sunday.
Thiago Silva has encouraged Paulo Dybala to join Chelsea.
Chelsea's veteran defender Thiago Silva has added his voice to the growing number of players endorsing Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti for the vacant Brazil national team manager position.
Chelsea have announced defender Thiago Silva suffered knee ligament damage during Sunday's 2-0 Premier League defeat at Tottenham.
Thiago Silva has signed a new one-year contract to remain at Chelsea until the summer of 2024.
Brazil have left Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino and Arsenal defender Gabriel out of their 26-man squad for the World Cup, but Gunners' team-mates Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli are included.