Man City given unwanted January transfer distraction after 'contract waiting' promise

Bernardo Silva is out of contract at Manchester City next summer but his future has been thrown into doubt by the Benfica presidential elections.

Bernardo Silva is being eyed up for a return to Benfica and the club want him as soon as January

Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva is at the centre of a battle for the presidency of former club Benfica, with his future at the Etihad beyond January thrown into doubt.

Silva was appointed City captain in the summer but is into the final year of his contract and appeared to hint during the Club World Cup that he had made up his mind to leave the club in 2026.

The 31-year-old is into his ninth season at the Etihad and has been linked with moves away in recent years, after expressing an interest in pursuing a new challenge.

Having only just been appointed captain, Pep Guardiola will want to keep the Portuguese midfielder for at least the season, but Benfica presidential candidate João Noronha Lopes has cast doubt on that after expressing his desire to sign Silva.

Noronha Lopes is confident of bringing him back to his boyhood club should he win the election on October 25, but also said he felt the deal could be done in January, with Benfica paying City a fee to sign the Portugal international.

“Yes, I confirm that there is a contract waiting for Bernardo Silva," said Noronha Lopes, who is the favourite to win the election.

"And I really want to bring him already in January. He personifies everything I want for Benfica: identity, a winning culture, and he is a great Benfiquista. And I can guarantee you that we will not stop here."

The speculation has cranked up further after Benfica coach Bruno Lage said he believed Silva would "soon" return to the club where he came through the ranks, although he left for Monaco after just three first-team appearances.

“Without wanting to enter the political side, from what I know of Bernardo and his motivation, soon he will be a Benfica player, regardless of the president,” said Lage.

The speculation will be an unhelpful distraction for City and their captain as they look to get their campaign back on track, having lost two of their first three Premier League games.

Silva has started two of those games as captain. He was appointed by Guardiola in the summer after delivering a couple of withering assessments of the team's efforts last season, when they finished third in the Premier League, lost to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final and were dumped out of the Champions League in the play-off round.

“I chose him for one reason,” Guardiola said of Silva's appointment. “In the last season, when we were in big, big trouble, always he was there.

“Always he was there, training every day, exhausted. We had just 13, 14 players plus the academy in one moment and every three days we’d lose a game—and always he was there. He’s the player in my period here who has played the most minutes, so he has always been available. For his generosity when he doesn’t play, always a big smile, always trying to help.

“He played at left back, right back, winger, holding midfielder. It doesn’t matter which position, always thinking what is best for the team. With all his attributes, I said he will be a good captain. And he’s been a really, really good captain.”

Guardiola would have always expected the appointment to be a short-term one, but it could throw his plans off course if his captain is now the subject of an attempted transfer in January.

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