Chelsea’s Silva returning to hometown club Fluminense

Chelsea centre back Thiago Silva will return to his hometown club Fluminense in the close season, the Brazilian Serie A side said on Tuesday.

Silva, who announced last month he would leave Chelsea after a four-year stay at the club, began his youth career at Rio de Janeiro-based Fluminense in 1998. He returned to Fluminense for another three-year spell before joining AC Milan in 2009.

“I’m coming home,” Silva said in an Instagram post.

Silva, 39, has 113 caps for Brazil and was part of seven Ligue 1-winning campaigns at Paris St Germain before joining Chelsea, where he won the Champions League in his debut season.

“The player will arrive in Rio de Janeiro to join the squad led by coach Fernando Diniz in around a month’s time,” Fluminense said in a statement.

“The defender won’t be able to play for the club until July 10, when the international transfer window opens.”