Bernardo Silva: the 'bargain' of next summer

One of the names that may have entered Real Madrid's list of potential signings for the summer of 2026 is BernardoSilva. The Manchester City player, firmly established in the European soccer elite, is currently one of the major concerns for the sporting management led by Hugo Viana.

After all, the Portuguese attacking midfielder has a contract with the cityzen club until mid-2026 and, as we have been able to confirm at Defensa Central, there don't seem to be clear intentions to renew. Everything suggests that Bernardo Silva could follow in the footsteps of another club legend: Kevin de Bruyne left SSC Napoli as a free agent this summer.

Following in the footsteps of his former Belgian teammate, Bernardo Silva could leave Etihad Stadium behind to join another team on the Old Continent. So far, Benfica is the most interested squad in signing him: from the upper echelons of Estádio da Luz, they have started working to secure his signing.

The main obstacle for "Las Águilas" would be paying the player's high salary, a circumstance that falls entirely to Bernardo Silva's agent. In this case, Jorge Mendes. The super-agent, also from Portugal, keeps an excellent relationship with Juventus de Turín, a team that emerges as a candidate in the operation.

They still haven't made a move

Real Madrid is watching from a more than prudent distance the efforts of Benfica and Juventus de Turín to sign Bernardo Silva without paying Manchester City. The executives led by Florentino Pérez believe that signing him is a market opportunity that should be explored first, given the age of the midfielder himself.

Because Manchester City's current "20" is already 31 years old. Although the latest free agent signings were that age, such as David Alaba and Antonio Rüdiger, the Madrid leadership wants to further reduce its range of action. Now, it's not enough to look for veteran players who are running down their contracts.

Hence the sudden interest in footballers like Marc Guéhi or Ibrahima Konaté: both will be free agents in the summer of 2026 but are under the 30-year-old threshold. Real Madrid's decision to focus on them is also influenced by Xabi Alonso's request after the Club World Cup: the Tolosa coach urgently wanted another center-back.

In any case, Real Madrid notes the name of BernardoSilva on its list of potential signings for the summer of 2026 without committing to trying to sign him. Above all, because the profile sought for the midfield is that of a footballer with broad creative abilities but who also shows excellent performancein defensive duties.