Thiago Silva swapped Paris for London after Chelsea Football Club completed the signing of the free agent.
After losing the Champions League final on Sunday evening to Bayern Munich in Portugal, it wasn’t to be the perfect ending for the departing Silva.
The ‘Messi of defenders’, according to Brazilian legend Ronaldo, shows his status and what other professionals think of him. The comparison came after TalkSPORT reported the statement after his links to Chelsea heightened over the past few days. The iconic figure of R9 called him ‘the best in the world.’
An astounding trophy cabinet
He has been in the French capital for eight years, signing from AC Milan. The eight-year spell in Paris has been rather successful. His honours list is endless:
7X Ligue Un
7X French Super Cup
6X French League Cup
5X French Cup
Copa America
Italian Champion
Italian Super Cup
Confederations Cup
This instantly adds experience to the Chelsea ranks. The defence was hugely exposed last season, Frank Lampard’s side leaked 54 Premier League goals.
Road to the top
Let's look at his career. Moving from Fluminense in 2009 after four years at the club, he put pen to paper at AC Milan for £13million.
Three years and one Serie A title later, he moved to Paris. The French club were making big moves at the time. They had also signed Silva’s teammate, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, in the same window. They were not finished in Italy, Marco Verratti from Pescara and Ezequiel Lavezzi from Napoli had also made the move.
The Brazilian took the armband in Paris. His leadership qualities have been a huge trait to his game. Something in which Chelsea will need going forward.
During the eight-year tenure at Parc Des Princes, Thiago played 315 times, scoring 17 goals from centre back.
With Chelsea in the Champions League for the upcoming season, Silva will be playing in a competition he is used to. Playing 60 times for PSG and 20 times for AC Milan, he will lead Chelsea’s defence amongst Europe’s elite.
The skipper has 89 caps for Brazil, this includes playing in three World Cups. After being part of the 7-1 humiliation to Germany in 2014, he made slight amends after playing part in his countries victory in the Copa America in 2019. They beat Peru 3-1. Other internationals accolades include the Confederations Cup in 2013.
Match made in heaven
Chelsea have been after a defender all summer. Lampard failed to find a suitable consistent partnership at the back throughout the season. Kurt Zouma was most efficient for the club, he impressed post lockdown.
The 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace was a highlight for the Frenchman. A good old-fashioned slide tackle prevented Chelsea from losing the game. Even the likes of John Terry took to social media to congratulate the centre-half, who made no harm in stamping his authority down for next season. He is someone who will be a regular figure in the defence next campaign.
As well as landing veteran figure Silva, Chelsea have been linked to Malang Sarr in recent weeks. The 21-year-old defender is a free agent after his contract expired at OGC Nice at the end of last season.
The SW6 club could go back to France to buy their second centre-back of the summer before Matchday one against Brighton in September. This area of the field is the only obstacle in the way of Chelsea returning to their heights of winning major trophies.