Tearful Chelsea star posts jealous message minutes after Newcastle United kicked off Champions League campaign

Chelsea star Thiago Silva posted a tearful message on social media as Newcastle United made their Champions League return on Tuesday night.

The veteran defender has played in the prestigious European competition every year since he made his Champions League debut at AC Milan in 2009. Over those 14 seasons, Silva has made 105 appearances in the tournament and won the trophy with Chelsea in 2021.

However, the Blues did not qualify for the event this season after an underwhelming 12th-place finish in the Premier League last time out and will not play any European matches this year. It's the first time since 1996 that has happened for the London club.

This year's Champions League Group Stage kicked off on Tuesday evening with Newcastle United making a momentous return in style with a big draw against AC Milan at the San Siro. Eddie Howe's side put in a gutsy performance to fly back to the UK with a point to take forward into meetings with Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund.

The other Premier League side in action last night was Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, who beat Crvena zvezda 3-1. Manchester United and Arsenal will kickstart their campaigns tonight.

It's left Chelsea supporters feeling a little left out and, just minutes after Newcastle United kicked off against AC Milan, the lack of Champions League football had clearly also hit home for Silva. Taking to X, the Brazilian tagged the official Champions League account and added a tearful emoji to his message.

Silva has started every league match for Chelsea so far this season under new Mauricio Pochettino stewardship, but the Blues have won just won of those, which was a 3-0 victory over newly promoted Luton Town.

The defender had previously shared his frustrations with the club's direction after the side were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid last season. Silva said: "I think the first step has been made. An incorrect step, but it has been made. We can't be blaming the managers if we don't take responsibility. It's a hard period for the club, with a lot of indecision.

"Change of ownership, new players arriving – we had to increase the size of the changing room because it didn't fit the size of the squad. A positive point is that there are amazing players in the squad but on the other hand there are always players that are going to be unhappy.

"There is always going to be someone upset because not everyone can play. The manager can only pick 11 from a squad of 30-something – that's tough. Some can't make the squad, we signed eight in January, we need to stop and put a strategy in place otherwise next season we could make the same mistakes."