The most unlikely Chelsea player imaginable is doing his coaching badges with Thiago Silva | OneFootball

Yesterday morning saw the announcement we have all been expecting for some time: Thiago Silva will be leaving Chelsea at the end of the season when his contact runs out.

That prompted an interesting piece on the Daily Mail website, a look back at the legendary Silva’s impact in 4 years at the club. It’s full of interesting snippets about how things took their course, but perhaps the most eye-opening part was about another player entirely.

Thiago is already a coach on the pitch, and he’s just one of those players you know will end up being a manager. He’s already studying with the PFA, but it turns out he’s not the only current Chelsea player doing so.

“Wherever he goes, Silva will remain heavily invested in Chelsea. His sons, Isago da Silva and Iago da Silva, are both in the club’s academy. Silva has been using the Professional Footballers’ Association to fulfil some of the practical elements of his coaching course – alongside Marc Cucurella, interestingly – but there is the possibility of him using Cobham. Frank Lampard did that before going on to become manager.”

Sorry, did we read that right? Cucurella is going his coaching badges? That is truly very unusual for a 25 year old playing regularly at the very top level. Cucurella is also a player who seems like he needs to receive more coaching, not start giving it.

We wonder if he got started on them while he was injured? Either way it’s a fascinating twist to someone who seems to be an interesting character. He certainly wouldn’t be the first footballer to do their badges while still playing, but it’s almost always the dressing room veterans who can feel the void of retirement approaching. Cucurella has potentially got another ten years of playing left!

Either way, it’s a lovely little curiosity and we hope that the Spaniard is asked about it himself one day, we’d love to find out more.