Bernardo Silva Reveals Post Man City Exit Plan

Bernardo Silva has revealed that he is desperate to return to Benfica but cannot make the move until his Manchester City contract expires.

Silva has expressed a wish to go back to Portugal, but he acknowledges that he won’t be able to do so until after his City contract expires because Benfica won’t be able to afford him due to his excessive value to the City team. The offensive midfielder Enzo Fernandez understands he would cost more than the €44 million (£38 million) record signing to the Portuguese club.

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In response to a question on A Bola’s possible return to Benfica, as rumours persist, Silva provided a thorough response: “I’ve never hidden that one day I want to go back, so of course I do. Now, we’ll see over time what’s possible and it’s not worth talking about this all the time, because people get tired… Let’s see.”

Silva also admits that he is “tired” of answering the question, adding: “You can, now there are contractual issues that have to be respected and… you have to live the reality, that Portuguese football at a financial level cannot compete with English, Spanish or even German and French clubs, therefore… For example, even if I I wanted to go to Benfica at the moment it was totally impossible because Manchester City is asking for a lot of money for a transfer for me. In the last four or five years I have been a player valued at over 50 million euros and it is impossible for a Portuguese club to pay that kind of value. People have to be a little realistic.”

The Champions League winner made his breakthrough with Benfica, having joined their academy in 2002, at the age of eight. He went on to make just three senior appearances, however, and quickly joined Monaco on loan, in 2014, before that move was made permanent. He subsequently joined City in 2017 and has since made 328 appearances for the European champions.

Bernardo appears fully aware of his own worth, thus he will likely stay with City for a lot longer even though his contract expires in 2026. Although it appears doubtful considering the Portugal international’s reasoning, it is still unclear if Benfica will try to sign him before his contract expires.