Benfica are one of the clubs whose former players are frequently linked with a return, and Manchester City star Bernardo Silva is one of them.
The midfielder never hides that he has deep feelings for the Lisbon club, and makes it clear he’d like to go back at some point in his career.
As Benfica president Rui Costa today spoke to Liga TV and is quoted by O Jogo, he talked about that kind of situation, and pointed out the club wouldn’t have the money to sign Bernardo from Manchester City.
“Even today there’s talk of so many players that our members and fans are so keen to see come back to wear our shirt, the players themselves have shown this, and they’re often hit with: ‘Oh, he says he’s coming but he doesn’t want to come. If he wanted to come, he’d lower his salary’,” said Rui Costa.
“People have to realise that in most situations this doesn’t even reach the player, because there can be no agreements between clubs. Benfica is not in a position to go to Manchester City, to give a very obvious case, and pay €100m for a player.”
In a recent interview with the Portuguese media, Bernardo admitted that Manchester City demand a lot of money for his transfer, insisting that people have to be ‘realistic’ about the power that Benfica would have to take him from the Premier League side.
The midfielder started his career at the Eagles’ academy but was given very few chances to play for the first team before being sold to Monaco. He could have been bitter about that, but since he’s a lifetime fan, a comeback is still a dream.
