Chelsea defender's wife strongly hints at summer exit

Over the past four years, the veteran Thiago Silva has defied his age in the Blues backline, winning the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup since leaving Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.

The 39-year-old - who turns 40 in December - was a stalwart of Chelsea squads under Thomas Tuchel, Frank Lampard and Graham Potter, and he is one game away from reaching 150 appearances for the club.

Silva has scored nine goals and provided three assists for the West London giants in that time and has continued to play a key role in the team under Mauricio Pochettino, scoring four goals in 32 games and starting 24 Premier League contests.

The Brazil international played the full 90 in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final with holders Manchester City, where Pochettino's side had numerous chances, but they failed to put any of them away and succumbed to a 1-0 loss thanks to Bernardo Silva's goal.

Belle Silva all but guarantees defender's departure

Defeat at Wembley - which left Silva in tears - means that Chelsea will end the 2023-24 season without a trophy to their name, although Pochettino's side could still qualify for Europe with a strong end to the Premier League season.

The Blues sit ninth in the top-flight standings with seven matches left to play, but those contests will seemingly represent Silva's final appearances in a Chelsea jersey, as suggested by Belle Silva.

Posting a photo of herself at Wembley on social media before kickoff on Saturday, the South American's partner captioned the image: "It [is] the last dance on [sic] Wembley."

Silva is free to discuss pre-contract terms with foreign clubs, having entered the last six months of his Chelsea agreement back in January, and the 39-year-old has long been linked with a return to his homeland for the final years of his career.

The president of Fluminense, whom Silva had three separate spells with, has already claimed that the defender will call time on his Chelsea career this summer, as a contract extension is now considered highly unlikely.

Which Chelsea players could leave alongside Silva?

As Chelsea's board seek to raise significant funds to offset a pre-tax loss of £90.1m for the 2022-23 financial year, Silva will likely be one of several names to bid farewell to the club this summer.

Fellow defenders Malang Sarr - frozen out of the squad this season - and Trevoh Chalobah, who started alongside Silva at Wembley at the weekend, are two men seemingly guaranteed to head for the exit door.

The future of Conor Gallagher remains a hot-button topic too, as his contract is yet to be extended beyond the summer of 2025, and both Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are thought to be monitoring developments.

As many as five loanees could also head for the exit door, as Ian Maatsen, Romelu Lukaku, Armando Broja, Hakim Ziyech and Kepa Arrizabalaga are not expected to reignite their Blues careers.