Thiago Silva remains driven by the desire to win trophies even at 35 and has set his sights on Premier League glory at Chelsea.
The Brazilian centre-back is poised to make his debut for Frank Lampard’s side having joined from Paris Saint-Germain over the summer.
Silva has one of football’s most glittering CVs with a Scudetto success at AC Milan followed by 18 domestic honours in France.
He was also part of the Brazil teams that won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2019 Copa America.
But the defender is far from done yet and believes Chelsea will be in the title race despite their 2-0 loss to reigning champions Liverpool on Sunday.
He told Chelsea’s official website: ‘What motivates me, day by day, is the hunger to win. To win everything within my reach.
‘Coming to the Premier League, my main goal is to win the league title and I’m certain that we’ll be fighting for that every step of the way.
‘The team is really strong, we’ve got a great coach and I’ve come here to contribute in whatever way I can to ensure we get as close as possible to achieving those aims.
‘That’s what motivates me: stepping out onto the pitch and then winning, winning and winning some more. I don’t think about anything else.’
Silva still hopes to play for Brazil at the next World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and thinks regular football for Chelsea will help him achieve that ambition.
‘The prospect of playing at the next World Cup is another thing that really drives me,’ he said.
‘I’ll be more or less 38 years old by the time of the next World Cup and I’m hugely motivated to be in good shape for it.’
Silva signed for Chelsea on August 28 but only started training with his new team-mates last Wednesday after PSG reached the Champions League final, losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich on August 23.
That meant he missed Chelsea’s opening two Premier League games against Brighton and Liverpool.
But Andreas Christensen’s suspension after his red card against Liverpool and doubts over Antonio Rudiger’s future could mean his debut will likely come in the next couple of weeks.
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