Thiago Silva does truly care about Chelsea FC. You saw that in his emotional farewell video that he posted earlier this season. Although the central defender has only been with the club since 2021, when he joined from Paris Saint-Germain, he’s developed a strong connection to the club and its fans. He wants the best for the Blues and their supporters, and thus he made some strong statements on his way out.
Silva said some of his teammates are putting their egos above the club.
He also added that in his native Brazil, the fans would throw rocks at them if they played in a manner that Chelsea have everyday.
Watch the full interview ??https://t.co/xmGrb11QXl
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 18, 2024
Also, note the referring to himself in the third person here (Unless that is just something that was lost in translation from Portugese to English).
“Thiago knows what it means to wear a Chelsea shirt, you know,” Thiago Silva said to Sky Sports.
“And if I have a message to send to the boys that are here today, I hope they understand that everything they did to get to Chelsea has to be worth it. Because the season we’re having is not worthy of Chelsea. It’s not. And I think they have to do more next year, they need to do more.
“If you look at the games, the fans never left the team, never. We were in ninth place, eighth, right? And the fans were always there. They booed us off a little at the end of the match, but they’re always there in the stands, always with 40,000, 45,000.
“If we were somewhere else, they could throw rocks at us – we know that happens in our country. So these boys need to be aware that Chelsea has to fight for the top positions. If we take a little of our ego and put it in favor of the team, I think it will work. If we don’t do that, the situation will hardly change unfortunately.”
A lot of Chelsea supporters would likely agree much of that assessment. Some of them would use even stronger words. Despite all this harsh prose, he got a really nice send-off today.
??? Time to say goodbye for Thiago! ? pic.twitter.com/9jIQxV5xiF
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 19, 2024
Take a look at that really nice banner pictured above, for the home finale versus AFC Bournemouth.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.