RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 19 -- Brazil captain Thiago Silva has expressed his disappointment that Paris Saint-Germain teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not feature at next year's World Cup.

Ibrahimovic captained the Sweden side which last month lost 4-2 on aggregate to Portugal in their World Cup qualifying playoff.

According to Silva, who joined the Ligue 1 outfit with Ibrahimovic from AC Milan in July 2012, the tournament will be poorer for his colleague's absence.

"It is a big disappointment that he won't be at the World Cup," Silva told Brazilian daily O Globo on Thursday.

"I was particularly sad about it and I told him that. I was supporting him the entire time (during the European qualifiers).

Silva also revealed his respect for four-time Ballon D'Or winner Lionel Messi, who he hopes to play against during the World Cup.

"He is the player I most like to play against," the 29-year-old said. "He is the best in the world and I always like to test myself against the best.

"When I play against the top players I manage to lift my game to another level, especially against Messi."