PORTO, Portugal — Veteran Brazilian defender Thiago Silva has joined Portuguese league leaders FC Porto until the end of the season.
He announced the move on Porto’s X account on Saturday, just days after his contract at Brazilian club Fluminense was terminated six months early.
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“I’m super motivated,” he said in a video with subtitles. “I hope I can help in the best way possible.”
Porto said in a statement that he has joined until the end of the season, with an option for another season.
The 41-year-old Thiago Silva helped Fluminense reach the semifinals of the Club World Cup in July.
He has 113 caps for Brazil and was in the squad at the last four World Cups. He is reportedly hoping for a recall in time for next summer’s tournament.
Earlier this week, Sliva said his contract with Fluminense was penned with a trip to the World Cup in mind to end his career.
ESPN Brasil reported that his goal was to find a new club as close to London as possible, so he can be near his family and his eldest son, Isago, who recently signed his first professional contract with Chelsea.
Thiago Silva briefly played for Porto in the 2004-05 season but only in the second tier.
He went on to have his first spell at Fluminense before building a reputation as one of the best defenders in European soccer with AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. He won the Champions League with the London-based club in 2021.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
