Jose Mourinho ran the show at Real Madrid this summer, giving the Portuguese manager Florentino Pérez unprecedented control over recruitment with the ability to sign and even sell players at will.
So far, Real Madrid have not made any sales, but they have made a few high-profile signings at the request of the new manager. In addition to adding Ibrahima Konate as a free agent, Mourinho specifically requested the signings of Mark Cucurella, Denzel Dumfries and Bernardo Silva – and it was done.
In his 2026 World Cup debut for Portugal against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Silva looked like a player Manchester City would have been only too happy to part with as a free agent, with Real Madrid fans noting that he looked complete as the Merengues and the Citizens went head-to-head in the Champions League knockout stages.
Jose Mourinho’s choice and no one else’s
Silva was terrible. His touch was poor, he was slow and physically weak, and the DRC defenders cleared the ball with relative ease. He didn’t look like he belonged on the pitch and was arguably the worst player for either team in their World Cup group stage encounter. His highlight of the match was a yellow card, the result of a clumsy challenge after he was embarrassed by a bad touch.
Real Madrid will have to keep a close eye on Silva’s progress, but he already looks like a potential transfer with a high salary. Although the madridistas are happy to support Jose Mourinho with players he likes and Bernardo Silva is used to being world class, he has not been at elite level since Manchester City won the treble in the 2022/23 season; Three years have passed since then.
Furthermore, Florentino Pérez has had numerous opportunities to sign Silva over the years, including when he was near the end of the peak of his career. Throughout those years, Perez rejected the player. And now, suddenly, Real Madrid signed him because Mourinho wanted him.
In fairness, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona were also very close to signing Silva before Real Madrid stepped in, and it says something that Silva immediately ditched those two clubs to join Los Merengues instead. But although Silva is a hard worker and has a good character, he has effectively reached a dead end as an athlete, and the DRC revealed that poorly on Wednesday.
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