Soccer-Chelsea's Silva will return to hometown club Fluminese in the summer
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – Premier League – Chelsea v West Ham United – Stamford Bridge, London, Britain – May 5, 2024 Chelsea’s Thiago Silva after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo
(Reuters) – Chelsea centre back Thiago Silva will return to his hometown club Fluminese in the close season, the Brazilian Serie A side said on Tuesday.
Silva, who announced last month that he would leave Chelsea after a four-year stay at the club, began his youth career at Rio de Janeiro-based Fluminese in 1998. He returned to Fluminese for another three-year spell before joining AC Milan in 2009.
“I’m coming home,” Silva said in an Instagram post.
Silva, 39, has 113 caps for Brazil and was part of seven Ligue 1-winning campaigns at Paris St Germain before joining Chelsea, where he won the Champions League in his debut season.
“The player will arrive in Rio de Janeiro to join the squad led by coach Fernando Diniz in around a month’s time,” Fluminese said in a statement.
“The defender won’t be able to play for the club until July 10, when the international transfer window opens.”
Chelsea, seventh in the Premier League, have three matches left this season.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)