How did David Luiz end up at Pafos? The story of Chelsea cult hero's surprise late career foray in Cyprus ahead of return to Stamford Bridge in the Champions League

Before last season, very few casual fans would have been aware of Pafos FC's existence. The Cypriot outfit played in Europe for the first time in their 11-year history, reaching the last 16 of the Conference League, and followed up that impressive run by clinching their maiden league title. The latter achievement earned Pafos a spot in the Champions League qualifying rounds, and helped attract one of the most famous footballers of his generation.

David Luiz joined the club at the start of August on a two-year contract, sealing his return to European football after four years back in his home country, Brazil. It was an unexpected late-career move for the 38-year-old, who Pafos described as a "true titan of modern football" in their official transfer announcement, and he is now looking forward to an even more unlikely homecoming at Chelsea.

Pafos will travel to Stamford Bridge to take on the Blues in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Luiz is sure to receive a hero's welcome if he is able to prove his fitness after suffering an injury at the weekend. The defender is a beloved figure among the Chelsea faithful, despite his move to London rivals Arsenal in 2019, having helped the club win six trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League, across two spells.

Regardless of the final result, it promises to be a memorable occasion for both Luiz and Pafos, whose rapid rise from complete anonymity to club football's elite stage has been nothing short of remarkable. Certainly, no one would have predicted it when AEK Kouklia and AEP Paphos initially merged to create Pafos FC back in 2014, and they were entered into Cyprus' second tier.

Pafos have been a fixture in the top-flight since being taken over by Russian businessman and former Portsmouth owner Roman Dubov in 2017, and have gone through a host of different managers, including Real Madrid icon Michel Salgado and ex-Manchester United man Henning Berg. But their real success began after the appointment of Juan Carlos Carcedo in 2023.

The Spanish coach, who once served as Unai Emery's assistant at Arsenal, delivered Pafos' first piece of silverware, the Cypriot Cup, in his debut season, and has since turned them into the country's No.1 team. With Luiz now helping to boost their profile even further, the future looks bright. However, one question lingers: how on earth did he end up at Pafos in the first place?

'Big challenge'

Luiz won the third FA Cup of his career at Arsenal, and became a key player early in Mikel Arteta's tenure, racking up 73 appearances across all competitions. However, a hamstring injury cut short his 2020-21 campaign, and the Gunners decided not to renew the then-34-year-old's contract, instead seeking to strengthen the heart of the defence with younger alternatives.

The former Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain star eventually found a new club in September 2021, with Flamengo snapping him up on a free transfer. Luiz turned down other offers to join the Brazilian giants, as he revealed at his presentation.

"I had a few different scenarios where I could have picked a quieter, more peaceful life, but I like to follow my heart," he explained. "This is another big challenge in my life. I felt during my tour that this is what I always wanted, it gives me the air I breathe. If the voice of the people is the voice of God, then the country called out to me and here I am."

In typical fashion, Luiz rose to that "big challenge", quickly nailing down a starting role despite his late-season arrival. Flamengo did, however, endure a heartbreaking end to the campaign, finishing second in the Brazilian Serie A before suffering a painful 2-1 defeat to Palmeiras after extra-time in the Copa Libertadores final, with Luiz playing the full 120 minutes.

Place in the history books

Flamengo dropped to fifth in the league table the following season, but won the Copa do Brasil and went one better in the Copa Libertadores, beating Athletico Paranaense 1-0 in the final. Luiz was the driving force behind their success, and became only the 14th player ever to win the Copa Libertadores and Champions League, earning a contract extension in the process.

"Flamengo is the pinnacle of emotions! It's living life on the edge. Always wondering 'what's going to happen?' But it's also the fulfilment of most Brazilians," Luiz said in a subsequent interview with Globo Esporte. "It's one of the best chapters of my life, one of the best things football has to offer. Did I imagine it? I don't know. Maybe I didn't imagine it would be so special and affect me as much as it does today. It gives me pleasure to say that it's a club that's in my heart!"

Luiz got the chance to compete in the Club World Cup again at the start of the 2023 campaign, as the 2022 tournament was pushed to February so it wouldn't clash with the international World Cup in Qatar. Flamengo failed to set up a blockbuster final clash with Real Madrid, though, falling to a shock 3-2 loss against Al-Hilal in the semis.

Disappointment ended up being the theme of their season as Flamengo fell short in all the major competitions, but Luiz did finally net his first goal for the club in a 3-2 league win over Bahia.

Fitness problems

There were also real signs that Luiz's body was starting to fail him during the 2023 campaign. Indeed, he missed Flamengo's final 11 league fixtures after suffering a severely sprained ankle during the team's 2-0 win away at Cruzeiro, with a buggy used to safely transfer the ex-Chelsea star from the field as he broke down in tears.

However, Flamengo still decided to renew Luiz's contract for one more year, and were vindicated in the early stages of the 2024 season. Luiz played a part in Flamengo's run to the Campeonato Carioca crown, and though persistent struggles with his ankle forced then-manager Tite to keep him on the bench for Flamengo's opening Serie A games, the veteran defender proved his worth upon returning to full fitness.

He was among the scorers in his first game back in the starting XI, a 6-1 league rout of Vasco da Gama, and it was a goal to put right up there with the very best of his career: Luiz pulled away from his marker during a corner delivery before firing a first-time volley into the net, prompting wild celebrations involving the majority of his team-mates. The superb strike capped a colossal overall display from Luiz, who also won five of his six aerial duels while posting a 95 percent pass completion rate.

Luiz became a regular again after that, but consistency proved elusive for Flamengo, and ex-Brazil boss Tite was sacked in September after they were knocked out of the Copa Libertadores by Penarol at the quarter-final stage. The club then turned to Filipe Luis, another former Chelsea star who finished his playing career at Flamengo - an appointment which spelled the beginning of the end for Luiz's spell at the Maracana.

Acrimonious departure

Flamengo went on to win the Copa do Brasil again under Luis, but Luiz was an unused substitute in their semi-final victory over Corinthians, and only played one minute across the two legs of their final triumph against Atletico Mineiro. Luiz did start four of Flamengo's final league matches in 2024, but his Achilles was still causing him pain, which left the club in a bind regarding his future.

On December 22, 2024, Luiz's departure was officially announced on social media, but he did not take kindly to the news, claiming he had been blindsided in an explosive outburst to the press.

"If I didn't have Instagram, social media, maybe I wouldn't even know today (about the non-renewal)," he said. "So, I think it wasn't good, and then I stop to think, there are only two ways: either it was intentional or it was amateurish."

Luiz was only a free agent for a month, though. Fortaleza handed him a two-year deal at the end of the winter transfer window, prolonging his stay in the Brazilian top flight. He was subsequently mobbed by fans upon his arrival, and said the club had "captured my heart", before immediately targeting silverware at the Ceara-based club.

"The foundation is here. Everything is here. The cake is almost ready," Luiz said at his official unveiling. "All that's missing is the whipped cream and the cherry on top."

Disastrous spell at Fortaleza

Fortaleza finished the 2024 Serie A season in fourth, just one place behind Flamengo, to qualify for the Copa Libertadores for the first time ever. They were not able to build on that success with Luiz on the books, though.

It quickly became obvious that Luiz was a club signing, not one that head coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda had pushed for, and he found himself in and out of the team, despite Fortaleza's form falling off a cliff. When Luiz picked up a thigh injury in early July, the writing was on the wall.

On August 1, the defender's contract was terminated by mutual consent, at which stage he had already reached an agreement to join Pafos. After the free transfer went through, Luiz explained why his seven-month spell at Fortaleza went so badly, hinting at a rift with Vojvoda.

"Unfortunately, it didn't happen the way I wanted," he said in an interview with Lance. "There were some things, but it wasn't the way I envisioned, which is also part of football. I played very little, but I understood that the best way to respect the club was to move on to another challenge, because it hadn't worked out the way we expected. I still have the same respect for Vojvoda, even though we think about football in different ways."

Luiz avoided the indignation of relegation by abandoning Fortaleza early, as they slumped to 18th in the table, but still made unwanted headlines due to off-field legal issues. The centre-back, who is engaged to long-time partner Bruna Loureiro, was accused of threatening a Brazilian social worker with whom he was alleged to be having an affair. Luiz denied all of the allegations, and Ceara police decided not to indict him after an investigation, as per Globo.

Rolling back the years

Luiz has found happiness again in Cyprus, and is on course to end his glittering career with a bang. Against all the odds, the Cypriot champions dispatched Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Dynamo Kyiv and Red Star Belgrade in Champions League qualifying to reach the league phase, and were rewarded with a dream fixtures against Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Villarreal and Monaco, with fellow newcomers Kairat Almaty, Olympiacos and Slavia Prague completing their list of opponents. Luiz wasn't fit enough to play in qualifying, but he was present for the celebrations after the win over Red Star.

"Everybody was in ecstasy," Luiz told BBC Sport. "Nobody expected us to be in the Champions League this season. I'm very happy to be here because I can see this feeling, with everybody's hunger, to do something great."

He has since become a mainstay in Carcedo's team, aiding Pafos's latest tilt at the Cypriot title, but they have fallen short of greatness on Europe's elite stage. Pafos have only amassed six points from their opening six Champions League fixtures, losing 5-1 at home to Bayern and 2-0 away at Juventus. They were also held to disappointing stalemates on the road at Olympiacos and Kairat, but all hope is not lost just yet.

On matchday four, Pafos pulled off one of the upsets of the tournament, beating La Liga high-flyers Villarreal 1-0 at the Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, and followed that up with a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Monaco at the Stade Louis II. The Cypriot champions twice battled back from a deficit, and Luiz bagged the pick of the goals, brilliantly heading into the top corner after rising highest to meet an in-swinging set-piece.

That was his first Champions League goal since 2017, and made him the second-oldest scorer in the competition's history behind Real Madrid icon Pepe. Luiz has lost much of his mobility, but still has a penchant for the spectacular, and will be highly motivated to deliver more heroics against his old club, Chelsea.

"I'm going to play against Chelsea with my heart totally full of energy," he vowed to the BBC. Pafos can still make the knockouts if they get a positive result at the Bridge and in their final league-phase match against Slavia, and if Luiz is true to his word, anything is possible.