Thiago Silva has lifted the lid on his move from Paris Saint-Germain to Chelsea, revealing his dismay at how his exit from the French giants was handled.
The Brazilian defender was informed by director Leonardo that his contract would not be extended beyond the 2019-20 season, except for a three-month deal to cover the delay enforced by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Silva, now 36, said he felt he deserved more of a send-off after enjoying eight trophy-laden years in France and was surprised that his time at the club, as well as Edinson Cavani's, was not celebrated more upon their departure.
'They never offered me a single thing; not even, “Thiago, do you accept €1 to stay with us?” Absolutely nothing, which was very upsetting,' Silva said, speaking to FourFourTwo.
'There’s something worse than that, though. Even in the middle of a pandemic, they had three months to plan a farewell, but nothing was done. Man, I wasn’t there for only one season, or a few months – it was an eight-year spell as a captain who lifted a number of trophies at the club.
'I deserved much more respect than that. The same thing happened to [Edinson] Cavani. That said, I’m really grateful for the things I experienced there. The final bit aside, I was happy and always well treated by everyone.'
Available as a free agent, Silva had offers from across Europe and beyond but chose to sign for Chelsea and took on a fresh challenge in the Premier League.
His form has been a big positive for Chelsea in what has been a tumultuous season with the departure of Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel arriving at Stamford Bridge to replace him.
But Silva speaks in glowing terms of Lampard's influence upon him as Chelsea boss and reveals how far he went to ensure the defender settled in London as promptly as possible - even sending him a picture of them shaking hands in a game between England and Brazil when they were both players.
Silva knew he had an offer from Chelsea two days after the 2020 Champions League final, which PSG lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in Lisbon.
'I told my agent that he could start finding a new club for me, but that he was forbidden to tell me anything until after our last Champions League game,' Silva said.
'The morning after the final against Bayern Munich, I bumped into the [PSG] president Nasser [Al-Khelaifi] in the hotel lift, and he told me that Leo wanted to talk to me again once we were back in Paris. I imagined what was coming, although my mind was already away from PSG.
'The Monday after the final, my agent called to say that an offer from Chelsea was on the table, and I had only a few days to decide. I accepted the next day, before my meeting with Leo.
'Later, he asked me whether I had already signed for another club, but it wasn’t the cleverest question. I told him I hadn’t, but that I had given my word to Chelsea and that it was worth more than any money.''
Silva has played 21 times in all competitions for Chelsea so far this season, scoring two goals.
At present, he is facing a spell out injured after hurting his thigh in the win over Tottenham.
Manager Tuchel said: 'With Thiago, we are fighting for him every day but he will be for sure out for the FA Cup (against Barnsley on Thursday) so it will take time.
'It will be several days but we set the goal, I would like him back for maybe Southampton (on February 20), that’s realistic but also ambitious.
'I know Thiago, he will do everything to be ready as soon as possible but it is a muscle injury so you cannot take any risk.'
The latest issue of FourFourTwo is on sale on Wednesday and has an in-depth feature on Tottenham and South Korea forward Son Heung-min, while former Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool defender Kolo Toure answers your questions and there are exclusive interviews with Liverpool keeper Alisson and former Manchester United and Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron for £3 visit: www.magazinesdirect.com/fft/81au
Rojace
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Even as a PSG fan, it felt sad to let Captain go. He really deserved a better farewell, Cavani As well.