Thiago Silva turned down a late offer to remain at Paris Saint-Germain and moved ahead with his transfer move to Chelsea, according to his agent Paulo Tonietto.
The 35-year-old defender completed his transfer to Chelsea last week after spending eight years in France.
During his time at PSG, Thiago Silva was able to win six Ligue 1 titles and finished his time at PSG with a 1-0 defeat to Bayern in the Champions League final.
Thiago Silva has signed a one-year deal with Chelsea, with the option for a further season, but his agent has revealed that PSG’s sporting director, Leonardo, made a plea for him to stay in France.
Tonietto also revealed that PSG’s manager, Thomas Tuchel, was interested in keeping Thiago Silva in his squad.
‘He [Thiago Silva] was no longer hoping [for a new contract] because Leonardo told him two months ago that he did not want to extend,’ Tonietto told L’Equipe.
‘But last Tuesday, Leonardo called Thiago and spoke about the possibility of staying for another year. ‘Thiago had already found an agreement with Chelsea, he couldn’t go back on it. When you get such an offer, you have to be convinced by it.
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‘A sporting director tells a player that he no longer wants him, but then two months later he wants to extend his contract, how should you take that?
‘Tuchel always wanted to keep Thiago. Leonardo was the one who didn’t want him.
‘That is why, even if he hadn’t signed with Chelsea, Thiago couldn’t see how he could have accepted the offer from Leonardo.’
