10 Players Who Rejected Barcelona
5. Thiago Silva
''It was a difficult decision to say no twice to Barcelona. It was never a secret that I have admired them since I was a kid and that I always wished I could play for Barcelona. But life is made of hard decisions that sometimes go against what you dream of. I heard people saying I was just thinking of the money, but they forget we have families to feed. Why would I accept to earn less money to play for Barcelona? Why are players the ones supposed to sacrifice themselves Besides, PSG offered me also an opportunity for a new challenge and the club are trailing the right path. - Thiago Silva, September 2013.
Instead of taking a pay cut to challenge for European glory with Barcelona, Brazilian centre-half Thiago Silva instead chose to renew his £10.1 million per year contract with lavish-spending French giants PSG. One would have to appreciate Silvas brazen honesty that it was purely money fuelling his decision, instead of trotting out the worn-thin line that the move broke down due to footballing reasons.
However, while PSG are ruling the roost in France with relative ease each season, they are yet to make the breakthrough on the European front, in much the same way as Manchester City. In a few years, while Silva bathes in his piles of cash, he might just wish that he had one or two Champions League medals to wear around his neck.