Thiago Silva Won't Get PSG Reunion in Intercontinental Cup

Six years after his departure, Thiago Silva could have faced PSG in the Intercontinental Cup next December. A reunion that ultimately won't happen.

Back at his formative club, Fluminense, this summer after a six-month spell at Porto, Thiago Silva is still playing soccer at 42 and has played every minute of the Brazilian club's Copa Libertadores matches since his return, wearing the captain's armband.

Unfortunately for him, his team lost to Palmeiras, another Brazilian club, in the semifinals in the early hours of Tuesday to Wednesday.

Fluminense had lost 2-1 at home in the first leg before winning 1-0 in the return leg overnight. But Palmeiras ultimately won 5-3 on penalties, despite a penalty converted by Thiago Silva.

This elimination of Fluminense on the doorstep of the Copa Libertadores final concerns PSG, since the winner of the South American competition will participate in the Intercontinental Cup next December.

As the Champions League winner, PSG will play only the final, normally on Dec. 16 (FIFA will confirm the date and venue). Before that, the Copa Libertadores winner, to be decided on Nov. 28, will face Mexican club Toluca, winner of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, in what FIFA has dubbed the Derby of the Americas.

The winner of this Derby of the Americas, which will be played next December at a neutral venue still to be determined, will then challenge Mamelodi Sundowns FC (a South African club) a few days later in a match dubbed the Challenger Cup, still at a neutral venue that remains to be determined, but will be the same one that hosts the Derby of the Americas and the final.

Finally, the Challenger Cup winner will face PSG in the Intercontinental Cup final.

The only team yet to be determined in this bracket is the Copa Libertadores winner, to be decided in late November.

Palmeiras is therefore qualified for the final and will face either Flamengo, another Brazilian giant, or Estudiantes de La Plata, an Argentine club. The first leg in Argentina ended 0-0, and the return leg will be played overnight at the Maracanã.

Having left PSG for Chelsea in 2020, Thiago Silva has not faced the Parisian club since, and barring an improbable turn of events, there is now little chance of that happening, as he suggested overnight that he could end his career next December, when his current contract expires.