Paris Saint-Germain defender Thiago Silva has admitted that he struggled to cope mentally between the 2014 World Cup and last season's Champions League tie against Chelsea.
Thiago Silva, 31, was captain of Brazil for their World Cup campaign, which came to an embarrassing end when the hosts were crushed 7-1 by eventual champions Germany in the semifinals.
The former AC Milan defender later bounced back and scored the winning goal in last March's Champions League round-of-16 clash with Chelsea -- however, he said it had taken a long time for him to recover.
"It was a bit of a difficult period for me," Thiago Silva told Canal Plus when asked about his post-World Cup form.
"The president [of PSG] gave me a lot of advice because he said 'you're the best defender in the world but you need to work more.' I said 'president, I'm always working. But in my head, there's a problem. I don't know what's happening.'"
Thiago Silva was replaced as Brazil captain by Neymar and he has not featured for the Selecao since they lost to Paraguay in the quarterfinals of the Copa America last summer.
The centre-back has been in excellent form for PSG this season, although he had a difficult night in their 2-1 loss at Lyon on Sunday.
Speaking before that game, he said he felt he has never been forgiven for Brazil's failure on home soil, despite being suspended for the match against Germany.
"I don't know what's happening exactly," Thiago Silva said of his future with the national team. "I'm telling the truth. But everyone forgot that even if I think I was the person responsible, I didn't play against Germany. And everyone thought it was my fault. That wasn't my fault."
Things have been going much better at club level and Thiago Silva says he could seek to extend his contract with PSG, even though it still has two more years to run.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's future in Paris is less certain since the striker's current deal with the French champions is due to expire in June.
However, Thiago Silva believes that Ibrahimovic, who has already scored 30 goals in all competitions this season, should remain at the club beyond the summer.
"Yes of course, because he always makes the difference for us," he said. "He's a guy I like a lot because when he has a problem with you he's going to tell you to your face. He never speaks behind your back. And this year he's already demonstrating that he could easily play with us for another two years."