Thiago Silva has revealed that it will be an emotional night for him as he returns to San Siro to face his former club AC Milan in the Champions League.
It was back in 2009 that Thiago Silva moved to Milan for a reported fee of €8m, and he quickly established himself as a real talent, winning a Serie A title in the 2010-11 season and almost managing to defend it the following year.
In 2012, he signed for Paris Saint-Germain in a transfer worth up to €42m, becoming the most expensive defender ever at the time. In 2020, he signed for Chelsea on a free transfer, and won the Champions League in his first season at the club.
Thiago Silva spoke during an interview with Mediaset that was broadcast on the day of the game at San Siro tonight, with Chelsea looking to secure a double over Milan while the Rossoneri are aiming to get back into the top two in the group.
“It is a good feeling to be back here after 12 years. It is a moment that touches me a lot, but I will try to stay calm and concentrate on the match. It will be a different match than the first leg,” he said (via MilanNews).
“It will be a very difficult match, thank goodness we won in London, so even a draw at San Siro would not be bad. We will try to win anyway. I know that playing at San Siro is not easy, but the goal is to score points.”
It was not the best of nights for Milan at Stamford Bridge last week as Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners against the Rossoneri will goals from Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reece James, throwing Group E wide open.
Thiago Silva though is not expecting anything like as easy a night as his team had in the first game, though.
“It can happen every now and then that you do not play extraordinary matches. But usually the big teams don’t miss two games in a row, so it will be difficult for us. We have to score a goal and then defend ourselves as we know.”
The Brazilian will be sure to get a good reception from the Milan fans who cheered his name for a few years, and he is looking forward to seeing them all again.
“It will be a special evening for me. It was already exciting in London. My wife came here too, it will be a great day. I hope to have a good match.”
