Owen Hargreaves believes Chelsea have made another mistake after Thiago Silva announced he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.
The Brazilian confirmed on Monday in an emotional video message he would be calling time on his four year spell in west London.
Silva joined the Blues on a free transfer from French giants Paris Saint Germain in 2020, and went on to win three trophies, including the Champions League in 2021.
It remains unclear if Chelsea even offered Silva a new deal or not but former Bayern Munich and Manchester United player Owen Hargreaves believes the club should have done everything in their power to keep the veteran defender.
Todd Boehly and Clearlake have come under a lot of criticism for the way they have run the club since they took over in May 2022, with the long contracts and heavy spending yet to show any real signs of progress or success on the pitch.
“Chelsea should have kept him on. I think they should have kept him”, Hargreaves said on Premier League Productions.
“The reason why they are struggling this season is because they have no leaders, no experienced players.
“They need more of them, not less. You don’t let the guy go who’s won the Champions League and been one of the best centre-backs of all time.
“He could have stayed to mentor all those brilliant young centre-backs they have, like Colwill, Badiashile and Disasi.
“Having players like Thiago Silva in the dressing room is priceless. A guy like Thiago, who has been there and done it, he doesn’t fold in the big moments.
“He can still play. I think he’ll go back to Brazil and play there. It’s so important to have mentors when you come through, that guy would be the best mentor ever.”
Silva has five games left with Chelsea, starting with Thursday night’s London derby against Tottenham which is a must win if the Blues are going to stand any chance of qualifying for Europe next season.
