Chelsea stars warned to lose their 'egos' as Thiago Silva fires parting shot ahead of Blues departure

Silva has pulled no punches in a farewell message to his Blues team-mates, telling them that their performance this season 'is not worthy of Chelsea'. The 39-year-old is preparing for a Stamford Bridge swansong on Sunday afternoon and paid tribute to the club's fans.

He said: "Thiago knows what it means to wear a Chelsea shirt, you know. And if I have a message to send to the boys that are here today, I hope they understand that everything they did to get to Chelsea has to be worth it. Because the season we're having is not worthy of Chelsea. It's not. And I think they have to do more next year, they need to do more."

Silva also paid tribute to the Chelsea fans, adding: "If you look at the games, the fans never left the team, never. We were in ninth place, eighth, right? And the fans were always there.

"They booed us off a little at the end of the match, but they're always there in the stands, always with 40,000, 45,000. If we were somewhere else, they could throw rocks at us - we know that happens in our country.

"So these boys need to be aware that Chelsea has to fight for the top positions. If we take a little of our ego and put it in favour of the team, I think it will work. If we don't do that, the situation will hardly change unfortunately."

Chelsea host Bournemouth on Sunday with an outside chance of a top-five finish. The Blues would need to beat the Cherries and see Tottenham lose at Sheffield United. However, Newcastle United can overtake them in sixth place, should Chelsea lose and the Magpies win at Brentford.

Thiago Silva is not yet ready to hang up his boots just yet. Although he will turn 40 in September, the defender will return to his homeland to sign for Brazilian side Fluminense on a two-year deal following his Chelsea departure.