Thiago Silva rips PSG over exit to Chelsea: ‘I deserved more respect’

Chelsea’s Thiago Silva has accused former club Paris Saint-Germain of “lacking respect” for him and Manchester United’s Edinson Cavani by not preparing a farewell for their long-serving players when they departed last summer.

The Brazil international helped the French giants to 23 pieces of domestic silverware between 2012-20 and the ex-captain’s final game with Les Parisiens’ was their 2019-20 UEFA Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich.

Silva, now 36 and expected to stay on with the Blues after a successful debut season so far, told FourFourTwo that PSG never offered him a chance to stay at Parc des Princes and accused the Ligue 1 champions of disrespecting him and Cavani.

“They never offered me a single thing,” he said. “Not even a ‘Thiago, do you accept €1 to stay with us?’ There is 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 was not 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.

“I am really grateful for the things I experienced there. The final bit aside, I was happy and always well treated by everyone. I did everything I could to take the club to where they are now — we got to a Champions League final for the first time ever. PSG will always be in my heart.”

Silva, also revealed that agent Paulo Tonietto started looking for a new club before the UCL run in Portugal.

“Before going to Lisbon, I told my agent that he could start finding a new club for me,” he said. “But that he was forbidden to tell me anything until after our last Champions League game.

“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 (the sporting director, Leonardo) 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. As soon as the final whistle went in Portugal, I felt like that was my last appearance for the club.”

Silva also praised departed coach Frank Lampard for his role in bringing the former AC Milan man to Chelsea and likened his late career move to Lampard’s short spell with Manchester City before finishing with New York City FC.

“As soon as I said yes, he sent me a picture of us both shaking hands as national team captains in 2013!” said the South American. “He understood exactly what I needed at this stage of my career, probably because he had made a similar move when he was also 36, from Chelsea to Manchester City.

“Marina [Granovskaia, club director] called me after I had agreed, then passed me on to Frank. It was through a translator, because I still do not speak English and his accent is even tougher for me! [Laughs] He hit the nail on the head from day one, saying, ‘Thiago, you don’t need to worry about your age – it’s not a concern for me at all. I’ll count on you absolutely, and I want to listen to what you have to say.’

“I was over the moon with that; knowing everyone at the club, top to bottom, wanted me here.”

Silva has since reunited with former coach Thomas Tuchel after the German separated with PSG at the end of 2020 and was replaced by ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino in the French capital.