David Luiz was denied the chance to make a playing return at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on Wednesday, but the former Chelsea star made his presence felt with a touching gift to a former staff member.
Luiz, now 38, was part of the Pafos FC squad as the Cypriot side faced Chelsea in their latest league phase match.
The veteran Brazilian had been a doubt pre-match due to injury and remained on the bench throughout Pafos’ 1-0 defeat by the Blues.
Luiz had been warmly received upon his return to Chelsea after playing for seven seasons at the club, across two spells.
He was part of their maiden Champions League winning side back in 2012, while he also won the Premier League, two Europa League titles and lifted the FA Cup on two occasions.
Post-match, Luiz gave the gift of a signed Pafos shirt to former Chelsea press steward Brian Pullman, who had worked at the club for nearly 56 years before retiring in 2024.
‘To my friend big friend Brian, god bless you,’ Luiz wrote on his No 4 shirt, which also featured his signature.
Luiz gesture was similar to his former manager Jose Mourinho, who had sought out Pullman following a press conference earlier this season when his Benfica side were also beaten 1-0 by Chelsea.
The Brazilian defender had also been seen taking photos with Chelsea fans ahead of the match as he embraced his return to the club.
Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah, who was in the Blues academy when Luiz was at the club, revealed on social media that he had also been given a shirt by Brazilian.
Pafos manager Albert Celades revealed post-match that Luiz had been determined to try to play the match, despite being injured in their previous fixture.
Luiz ultimately lost his fitness battle, with Celades admitting it was ‘impossible’ for him to have featured in the match.
‘Yeah it was just one problem more,’ Celades said when asked about Luiz’s absence.
We came with two players who had some injuries and they tried to play until the last minute.
But it was impossible. We are proud of them because they wanted to play until the last minute and play the game.
For David Luiz, he is a legend of this club [Chelsea]. It was a pity for him because he loves to be here.
It was an amazing opportunity to share some moments that he had here with the fans.’
Chelsea were 1-0 winners in the match with Moises Caicedo’s second half header proving enough to edge Liam Rosenior’s side past Pafos.
The result saw Chelsea move into eighth place in the league phase ahead of the final round of matches next week.
A top eight finish would ensure direct qualification through to the last-16 of the competition, crucially avoiding having to feature in a play-off.
