5 destinations for out of favour Manchester City attacker Bernardo Silva

#3 SL Benfica

A loan spell at Benfica could benefit Silva

Before AS Monaco, there was SL Benfica: Another one of Bernardo Silva’s previous teams. While a move back to Portugal seems unlikely given the standard of football in the league outside the top three, the 23-year-old would surely return to his boyhood club one day.

A product of Benfica’s famous youth academy, Silva joined the club as an eight-year-old before winning the 2012/13 Portuguese Juniors Championship, going on to make his Benfica B-team debut on the opening day of the 2013/14 season, where he won the Segunda Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year.

For a player with immense talent such as Silva, it was strange for him to play just eight minutes of league football for the Benfica first team before his move to Monaco, but he certainly made the correct decision given the level of football in Portugal compared to the project that the Ligue 1 club had going at the time.

With that move to Monaco, Silva furthered his career, adding a Ligue 1 winners medal to his name before joining Pep Guardiola’s revolution.

However, if he was to leave Manchester City for playing time, then why not go back to SL Benfica? Even if it’s a loan spell.

The Portuguese powerhouse are already out of Europe – both the Champions League and Europa League – after finishing bottom of Group A, that included Manchester United, Basel and CSKA Moscow while they’re sitting third, behind rivals FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon in the league.

Even if it’s just a loan move for Silva, he could find his confidence once again to then fight for his place in the Manchester City starting XI.