Thiago Silva says he has no reason to leave PSG

Thiago Silva has said that he feels "flattered" by Barça's attempts to sign him, but assured that he has "no reason" to leave Paris Saint Germain, which has just upped his salary to €12 million a year and extended his contract until 2017.

In an interview given to French sports newspaper 'L'Equipe', he talked about the "speculations" and rumours regarding his possible move to Football Club Barcelona over the last few weeks, and the club's desire to contract him. He was "flattered" because it meant that his work and that of his club, PSG, was being positively appreciated.

Despite this, he wished to make it clear that he was "happy" at PSG, and that the Parisian club was happy with him, and "therefore, there's really no reason to jump ship". After saying how fond he was of the club's president Nasser Al-Khelïfi, whom he considers a friend, he added that he believes "more and more" in the Sheikh's project.

He admitted that he was "disappointed" by manager Carlo Ancelotti's departure, as he had helped the player to develop at Milan, and knew him well. That said, he was confident in the abilities of his substitute, Laurent Blanc: "Blanc was a great defender and so will be more demanding of us defenders", he observed. He also expressed his hope that teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic would stay.

Asked if PSG was in a position to win the Champions League, the Brazilian replied that the club already was the previous year: "We very nearly knocked Barça out in the quarter-finals last season. We're going to have a great season, and yes, I think we can win the Champions League."