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As reported by Le Parisien, Chelsea defender Thiago Silva found out that he would be joining Chelsea just a few minutes after PSG’s 2020 Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich.
Two months earlier the Brazilian, now 37, was told that PSG would not be offering him a new deal beyond the end of that season and the player had sought to make other arrangements for the following year. The PSG captain received the message that his deal had been agreed with Chelsea as Paris traveled back to the Airport in Portugal after the 1-0 loss to Bayern, as Silva told Chelsea TV:
“The moment I heard the news was in the PSG bus on the way back to Paris after the Champions League final, where we lost. In this moment of sadness there was also a moment of great joy. It made me very proud to know that I had such a profile and that the club saw me as a leader.”
It was later reported that coach Thomas Tuchel had asked to keep the player but was denied only for PSG sporting director Leonardo to then offer to extend Silva’s contract after the final. But he was too late and Silva declined as he had already given his word to Chelsea. Silva and Tuchel would soon reunite to win the European cup at Chelsea a year later.
