Thiago Silva has admitted the Chelsea fans' chant for him serves as great motivation and makes him proud to represent the club.
Silva joined Chelsea on a free transfer from PSG in 2020 and has become a huge hit both on and off the pitch.
The veteran Brazilian centre-back has been a standout performer throughout his time at Stamford Bridge and is hugely popular among the Blues' fanbase - famously earning his own chant, with 'OH Thiago Silva' sung to the tune of The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army basically every time he touches the ball.
Speaking to Chelsea's official website about his time at Stamford Bridge so far, the 37-year-old said of his popularity: "I didn’t expect to have so much recognition in such a short time and now I’m being cheered that way, so it’s certainly a source of great pride and I feel very proud to be part of this club.
"The chant gets stuck in my head. When I enter the stadium some of them start singing and then it spreads to the other side. It really motivates me a lot but at the same time it gives me a big responsibility because I know they count on me to be at a high level so that I don’t concede goals."
He continued: "I think that somehow the singing gives me a special motivation so that I can in some way shield our goal, together with the other players, obviously, so that we leave without conceding a goal and with the win."
The centre-back also reflected on finally fulfilling his career-long dream of winning the Champions League last season as Chelsea defeated Man City in Porto. Silva was a beaten finalist with PSG the previous year.
"It was difficult, it was hard because a year earlier I had lost the final against Bayern in Lisbon," he said.
"After some time I was back again to the final where I had some of the worst news of my life, which was tuberculosis, since I was in Porto. I didn’t play for some time.
"I think that only those who have lifted that trophy know how it feels. Going back to a Champions League final and winning that long-awaited title where I spent one of the worst moments of my life, it certainly made me emotional."
For more from Krishan Davis, follow him on Twitter.
Source : 90min