“He’s a legend of football, a top player" - Chelsea star on prospect of facing former teammate Thiago Silva at the Club World Cup

Chelsea's Marc Cucurella is relishing the prospect facing club legend Thiago Silva in the semifinal of the FIFA Club World Cup on Tuesday, July 8, at the MetLife Stadium. The Blues lock horns with Fluminense for a place in the tournament final, where they could face either Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Thiago Silva, meanwhile, left the London giants last summer to move back to his boyhood club Fluminense. The Brazilian was a revelation during his stay at Chelsea, winning the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup. He has 155 appearances for the London giants in his career.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's game, as cited by The Independent, Cucurella revealed that he has already exchanged messages with his former teammate.

“We’ve watched some of their games. They have very good players, they are very determined and they have Thiago Silva. He’s a legend of football, a top player. He’s only played for big clubs and texted me before the (quarter-final) game saying, ‘Let’s go, hopefully we can see you in a couple of days’. I texted him saying, ‘Let’s go!’" said Cucurella.

He continued:

“We have the opportunity to play against him again and hopefully we can do good things and win this game and play in the final which is what we want to do.”

Marc Cucurella and Thiago Silva have appeared together 41 times for the Blues.

Have Chelsea secured the services of Jamie Gittens this summer?

Chelsea have announced the arrival of Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund this summer. The Blues have reportedly agreed to pay £48.5m upfront, with a further £3.5m in add-ons, for the Englishman.

Gittens was outstanding for the BVB in the 2024-25 campaign, registering 12 goals and five assists from 49 games across competitions. There was severe interest in his services this summer, but the London giants managed to win the race.

Speaking to Chelsea's website after completing the move, the 20-year-old said that he is eager to meet his new teammates.

"It feels great. It’s a great feeling to join such a big club as Chelsea. I can’t wait to learn from everyone in the team and to push myself to the max here. It’s an amazing feeling," said Gittens.

Gittens could be a replacement for Jadon Sancho, who has left Stamford Bridge after the Blues decided against signing him permanently this summer.

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Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit