Chelsea fans stunned at what 40-year-old Thiago Silva just did for Fluminense at the Club World Cup

Former Chelsea star Thiago Silva just rolled back the years with an excellent performance for Fluminense at the Club World Cup.

Chelsea‘s own Club World Cup campaign kickstarted earlier in the week with a 2-0 victory against Los Angeles FC.

The Blues face Flamengo in their next match in Group D. Incidentally, Brazilian media think Chelsea are vulnerable in certain areas ahead of Friday night’s showdown.

Elsewhere, there are a lot of familiar faces involved in the expanded 32-team tournament.

At 40 years old, Thiago Silva still plays at a high level in the latter stages of his career after enjoying four brilliant seasons at Chelsea between 2020 and 2024. The legendary defender is a key figure for Brazilian club Fluminense.

On Tuesday evening, Fluminense impressed at the Club World Cup in the 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund.

Chelsea fans blown away by Thiago Silva performance at the Club World Cup

Chelsea supporters on social media were left stunned by just how good Silva played for Fluminense, delivering a defensive masterclass to keep Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy relatively quiet.

Here are Blues fans on X raving about their former centre-half:

One fan wrote: “Thiago Silva, wow. Man’s still got it. Class is permanent.”

“Thiago Silva would still be our best defender if he stayed,” another posted.

One supporter claimed: “Thiago Silva is still so, so, so good at 40.”

“Thiago Silva has still got it,” another said.

Shaun Wright-Phillips thinks Chelsea should have kept Silva a year ago, but he ended up leaving Stamford Bridge on a free transfer. Based off what we’ve just seen, the timeless centre-back still has the quality to play at the top level.

Ian Wright thinks Chelsea need someone like Silva in the current team with his experience and leadership, but his profile goes against the club’s current transfer strategy of focusing on youth and potential.

Remarkable Thiago Silva statistics vs Borussia Dortmund

Silva put in a dominant performance in the Fluminense defence against Dortmund, and the stats highlighted a superb individual contribution.

If he’s on the pitch, Fluminense could be surprise packages to do quite well in this summer’s Club World Cup tournament. The quick turnaround in fixtures doesn’t work in his favour, though.

Without a doubt, Silva belongs in the conversation for one of the greatest central defenders of his generation.