Following Chelsea’s exit from the Champions League, Thiago Silva criticized the club’s ownership and suggested that poor transfer decisions have contributed to a lack of unity within the dressing room.
Chelsea suffered a devastating exit from the Champions League on Tuesday evening as they were defeated 2-0 by Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge, thus securing the latter’s place in the semi-finals.
As Frank Lampard is set to lead the Blues in their remaining seven games, it is almost certain that Chelsea will miss out on Champions League football next season, as they currently sit 17 points behind fourth place in the Premier League.
Chelsea’s recruitment team has been actively searching for Lampard’s permanent successor, with Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique having been interviewed this month. However, according to Chelsea defender Thiago Silva, the club’s hierarchy has made “incorrect” decisions which have contributed to their downfall this season.
Silva criticised Chelsea’s ownership, claiming that indecision has played a key role in the club’s poor performance. “We can’t be blaming the managers if we don’t take responsibility,” Silva said. “It’s a hard period for the club, with a lot of indecision. Change of ownership, new players arriving – we had to increase the size of the changing room because it didn’t fit the size of the squad.”
While acknowledging that there are some “amazing players in the squad”, Silva also admitted that “there are always players that are going to be unhappy. There is always going to be someone upset because not everyone can play. The manager can only pick 11 from a squad of 30-something – that’s tough.”
Silva further criticized the club’s transfer strategy, stating that the signing of eight new players in January has led to disharmony in the dressing room. “Some can’t make the squad, we signed eight in January, we need to stop and put a strategy in place otherwise next season we could make the same mistakes,” he said.
The Brazilian defender also urged the players to take responsibility for the club’s failures this season, rather than simply blaming the managers. “Everybody talks too much about replacing managers. I think we, as players, must also take responsibility,” Silva said. “We have had three managers this season, plus a fourth with Bruno where we failed to win. We have lost today and with Lampard we have failed to win. Everybody is talking about the manager but we must look at what has been done wrong and try to change.”
Silva, who appeared emotional on the pitch after the final whistle, also acknowledged that the defeat to Real Madrid is likely to be the last Champions League game of his illustrious career.