Benfica president Rui Costa has admitted he is “absolutely convinced” that Manchester City star Bernardo Silva wants to return to the club.
SAPO cover comments from Costa today. He is currently vying for re-election and was part of a debate on Thursday. The topic of signing Silva from Manchester City was brought up once again.
He has become something of a fighting point for the Benfica presidential candidates, Costa and Noronha Lopes.
The topic of signing him from Manchester City has become commonplace in the various debates before the next election on November 8th. A previous round on October 25th saw neither candidate fail to secure an absolute majority. Costa, though, did win the most votes.
Unlike Lopes, Costa has refused to outright confirm he wants to sign Bernardo Silva from Manchester City or could do so. In fact, he has criticised his rival for making such promises to Benfica fans.
That’s not something he’s going to change now, but he is willing to admit that he is convinced Silva wants to return to his former club. The Manchester City midfielder is a product of Benfica’s youth system but only made three appearances in the senior team.
He’s still well liked at the club, though, and the promise to sign him is a major plus point for fans. Costa thinks it can happen as well.
“No one can guarantee that a player will return to Benfica,” he said.
“We’re talking about campaigns from the 80s and 90s. Today he’s captain of Manchester City. I’m convinced that if he returns, it will be like Rui Costa returned, to Benfica, not to any president. I’ve been through that before.
“When a player is a Benfica supporter and wants to return, he returns for the club, not for the president. He may even think one project is better than another. But I’m absolutely convinced that he wants to be a Benfica player.
“He never wanted to be the president’s player; he wanted to be the club’s player. And I think Bernardo thinks like me.”
