THIAGO SILVA
“ONE OF MY LUNGS WAS COMPLETELY WHITE. I SPENT SIX MONTHS IN A RUSSIAN HOSPITAL. BUT NOW I CAN SAY I’M A LIFE CHAMPION TOO!”
Flying a kite might feel to most people like a pastime from the last century, but it’s up there as one of Thiago Silva’s favourite activities to help him disconnect from football. More than that, though, it takes the 36-year-old Chelsea defender back to his rough but joyful childhood in western Rio de Janeiro.
“I was more passionate about kites than football,” he tells FFT in his first major interview with British media since crossing the English Channel from Paris Saint-Germain last summer. “If I was having a kickaround with my friends and saw a kite up in the sky, I would leave the ball behind straight away, take my string and head over for the battle.”
As competitive as he can be, however, the Brazilian doesn’t waste time doing it during the season. After all, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge with no other kites in the London sky – as if the rain would even allow it. Silva’s aerial duels are hosted in his hometown. “The feeling of cutting someone’s kite is as good as scoring a goal,” he chuckles.
The centre-back has always been about beauty over brutality. The legendary Paolo Maldini, his former Milan team-mate, once hailed him as “the only defender who can change the outcome of the game”.
“PSG NEVER OFFERED ME A THING; NOT EVEN A FAREWELL. MAN, IT WASN’T A FEW MONTHS – I WAS CAPTAIN THERE FOR EIGHT YEARS”
Silva also has a few things that he would like to get off his chest. Over the course of a remarkable three-hour interview with FFT, Chelsea’s No.6 is terrific company, discussing everything from his distressing PSG departure and Frank Lampard’s charm offensive, to the devastating time that tuberculosis nearly cost him his life in Russia. Silva also reveals fresh details of his unique individual preparations for Premier League life, with one eye on going to a fourth World Cup at Qatar 2022.
It’s about to get emotional...
Why did you leave PSG last summer?
A lot was said about it – that I didn’t want to reduce my salary to stay at PSG – but there’s only one truth. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March, I went back to Brazil. One day, [PSG sporting director] Leonardo called me.
