Thiago Silva says Chelsea's previous success in the Champions League makes it more enjoyable to play for the Blues in the competition compared to his time at Paris Saint-Germain.
The Brazilian defender arrived at Stamford Bridge on a free transfer last summer after eight seasons with the Ligue 1 giants in which he won 23 honours, of which seven were Ligue 1 titles.
Yet the financial disparity between PSG and their competitors in the French top tier meant domestic domination was a given. There was little celebration to be taken by sweeping all before them.
For Qatar Sports Investments, the organisation that owns Paris Saint-Germain, the all-important prize was the Champions League. And it's one that the club haven't been able to secure.
PSG came close last term, getting to the final last summer under current Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel but they were defeated 1-0 by Bayern Munich.
That game proved to be Silva's last for the Ligue 1 giants. He would complete his move to Stamford Bridge days later and quickly established as a key player under Frank Lampard.
The Brazilian has only featured three times under Tuchel due to a thigh injury sustained in the victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the start of the month. He is expected, however, to return to the side tomorrow evening when the Blues play the first leg of their Round of 16 tie against Atletico Madrid.
And when asked during an interview in the March edition of FourFourTwo whether Silva enjoyed playing in the tournament away from the colossal pressure at PSG, he gave an honest response.
"I believe so, yes. At PSG, the pressure to win a first Champions League [under QSI] is immense. The team works around this objective, not to win Ligue 1.
"It's no use doing a clean sweep of the domestic titles, as we did a few times, but being knocked out in the last 16 or the last eight of Europe.
"It always seemed like if that happened, the whole season was s**t – it felt over once we exited the Champions League.
"At Chelsea, however, there's a very different atmosphere regarding European football. The club has already managed to lift that trophy, and winning the Premier League title is also one of our priorities."
For his final two seasons in Paris, Silva worked under Tuchel. And the German coach was asked ahead of tomorrow night's Round of 16 first leg against Atletico Madrid whether he agreed with the Brazilian's assertion that there was less pressure on Chelsea in the Champions League.
He replied: "I understand why Thiago as a player feels like this. For me as a coach, I never felt like this. In Paris, a lot of judgement is made on the Champions League. Everyone expects you to be domestic champion and win all the cup competitions, so I more or less understand why Thiago says that.
"But when you work as a coach with your staff, you know how hard it is to maintain a certain level to become champions all the time, to win all the knockout games in the cup, and to arrive at the top in the Champions League.
"So for me, I felt it was a big, big challenge to become champion every year in France and to arrive in cup finals. You feel every day what is needed to have this mentality.
"I can understand from the outside, that Thiago feels like this. The Premier League for Chelsea has a much higher value than the domestic league is to Paris. That’s maybe why he feels like this.
"In general, it should always be like this. Sports at the highest level, we have to feel light and feel the joy that comes with playing at this level. So hopefully we feel the joy and adventure of playing at this level.
Tuchel confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Silva will not feature in tomorrow night's Round of 16 first leg against Atletico Madrid due to injury.
The Brazilian suffered a thigh problem in the victory over Tottenham at the start of the month and while the 36-year-old has returned to training, he will not travel to Bucharest with the rest of the Blues squad.
