"Maybe it was my last Champions League game"- Chelsea star drops major hint on his future after UCL exit against Real Madrid
Chelsea star Thiago Silva has said his team's 2-0 loss against Real Madrid on Tuesday (April 18) could be his last appearance in the UEFA Champions League.
The Blues were dumped out of the quarterfinals by Los Blancos 4-0 on aggregate. The 38-year-old is set to miss out on playing in the competition next season unless he leaves the Blues for a club playing in the Champions League.
Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League with 39 points from 31 games. Newcastle United, who're fourth, have a game in hand and boast a 17-point lead. Silva's contract with the Blues expires at the end of next season.
A dejected Silva told French TV Canal+ (h/t Globo.com) said after the game:
"The frustration is there: maybe it was my last Champions League game. It is sad to end like this."
The Brazilian centre-back has scored four goals in 105 UEFA Champions League games, including 20 for seven-time winners AC Milan, where he spent three years before joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2012.
Silva's debut in the competition came with Milan as a 24-year-old in a 2-1 group-stage win against Olympique de Marseille in September 2009. He would have to wait 12 years to win the competition for the first time, doing so in the 2020-21 season with Chelsea.
Frank Lampard's horror start to Chelsea stint continues
Frank Lampard is finding it difficult to muster a win as manager. The Englishman was fired by Everton in January after a run of ten winless games across competitions, losing eight.
The Englishman was installed as caretaker boss by Blues co-owner Todd Boehly after Graham Potter's sacking earlier this month. Since his return to West London, though, Chelsea have lost all four games under Lampard.
The Englishman has had just one win in 14 games across competitions as a manager. Any faint chances he may have had of taking over the Stamford Bridge helm after the summer will have faded after the loss against Real Madrid. His team may have nothing left to play for but Lampard has vowed to use the next seven games to raise the club's standards and performances before next season.