Thiago Silva to Return to Brazilian Club Fluminense after Leaving Chelsea at End of the Season

Football - Premier League - Chelsea v West Ham United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 5, 2024 Chelsea's Thiago Silva after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Chelsea v West Ham United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 5, 2024 Chelsea's Thiago Silva after the match. (Reuters)
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Thiago Silva to Return to Brazilian Club Fluminense after Leaving Chelsea at End of the Season

Football - Premier League - Chelsea v West Ham United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 5, 2024 Chelsea's Thiago Silva after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Chelsea v West Ham United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 5, 2024 Chelsea's Thiago Silva after the match. (Reuters)

Veteran defender Thiago Silva will return to Brazilian club Fluminense after leaving Chelsea at the end of the season.

The 39-year-old Silva said last week he was not extending his contract with Chelsea and Fluminense announced Tuesday that the center back is joining on a free transfer.

The defending Copa Libertadores champion posted a picture of Silva wearing a Fluminense shirt on social media with the text: “The monster is back.”

Silva played for Fluminense between 2006 and 2008. He left for AC Milan in 2009, and three years later joined Paris Saint-German. The Brazilian joined Chelsea in 2020 and won the Champions League the following year.

The defender was in Brazil’s squad for the last four World Cups. He also won the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2019 Copa América with the national team.

Silva is expected to join Fluminense once Brazil’s transfer window reopens in July.



France Coach Didier Deschamps Says He’ll Leave after 2026 World Cup

France's coach Didier Deschamps celebrates as they do a lap of honor during a ceremony to celebrate the victory of the 2018 World Cup at the end of the UEFA Nations League football match between France and Netherlands at the Stade de France stadium, in Saint-Denis, northern of Paris, on September 9, 2018. (AFP)
France's coach Didier Deschamps celebrates as they do a lap of honor during a ceremony to celebrate the victory of the 2018 World Cup at the end of the UEFA Nations League football match between France and Netherlands at the Stade de France stadium, in Saint-Denis, northern of Paris, on September 9, 2018. (AFP)
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France Coach Didier Deschamps Says He’ll Leave after 2026 World Cup

France's coach Didier Deschamps celebrates as they do a lap of honor during a ceremony to celebrate the victory of the 2018 World Cup at the end of the UEFA Nations League football match between France and Netherlands at the Stade de France stadium, in Saint-Denis, northern of Paris, on September 9, 2018. (AFP)
France's coach Didier Deschamps celebrates as they do a lap of honor during a ceremony to celebrate the victory of the 2018 World Cup at the end of the UEFA Nations League football match between France and Netherlands at the Stade de France stadium, in Saint-Denis, northern of Paris, on September 9, 2018. (AFP)

Didier Deschamps announced Wednesday that he won’t continue as France coach after the next World Cup.

The 56-year-old Deschamps said in an interview with broadcaster TF1 that he will leave when his contract expires in the summer of 2026.

“I’ve been here since 2012, I’m scheduled to be here until 2026, the next World Cup, but that’s where it’s going to end because it has to end at some point,” Deschamps said in excerpts of the interview to be aired later Wednesday.

“I did my time, with the same desire and the same passion to keep the French team at the highest level, but 2026 is all very well.”

Deschamps started in his role as a successor to Laurent Blanc and led France to victory at the 2018 World Cup, also reaching the final in 2022 and at the 2016 European Championship.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, France reached the final and lost an epic title match to Argentina.

“I’m not here for the records,” Deschamps added. “The most important thing is that the France team remains at the top as it has been for many years.”

Europe will send 16 teams to the first 48-team World Cup, being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico in the summer of 2026.

Deschamps did not elaborate on his future beyond the World Cup.

“There is a life afterwards,” he said. “I don’t know what it will be.”