Benfica presidential candidate tables January contract offer for Manchester City midfielder | OneFootball

Benfica presidential candidate Joao Noronha Lopes is keen on bringing back Manchester City and Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva back to his boyhood club.

Silva is out of contract at the Etihad Stadium next summer, with newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana and co allowing the 31-year-old to enter the final year of his deal despite the risk of losing him for nothing in 2026.

Since joining Manchester City from AS Monaco for £43 million in 2017, the playmaker has won six Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup amongst a plethora of silverware.

Pep Guardiola will be keen on keeping hold of one of his most integral senior players into the 2026-27 campaign but the major revamp of Manchester City’s first-team squad this summer could well point to an amicable parting of ways when Silva’s contract runs out.

Silva has previously expressed a desire behind the scenes to leave the Etihad Stadium and start a new chapter closer to his homeland, with the six-time Premier League attracting strong interest from Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain in the summers of 2020 and 2021.

However, a failure on part of suitor clubs to match Manchester City’s valuation of the midfielder and the club’s reluctance to lose one of their best players has seen Silva stay put and perform at the highest level in England.

The Portuguese played an integral role in Manchester City’s maiden UEFA Champions League crown in 2023, scoring in home knockout games against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid before crossing the ball into the box that led to Rodri’s historic winner in City’s final triumph over Inter Milan in Istanbul.

Manchester City are undergoing a period of key transition on and off the pitch after years of dominating English football, with question looming over what the summer of 2026 could hold for Silva, who will have no shortage of suitors should he decide to call it a day at the Etihad Stadium.

Benfica presidential candidate João Noronha Lopes has not kept his desire of signing Silva a secret in recent weeks, with reports from Portugal indicating that the club have a contract offer ready for Silva, who can formally negotiate terms over a free transfer with clubs from January 1, 2026.

Mail Sport’s Jack Gaughan has relayed new comments from Lopes, who is doing everything in his power to tempt Silva into sealing a sensational return to his boyhood club, whom he left permanently to join AS Monaco in 2015.

Lopes said: “I can confirm a contract is waiting for Bernardo Silva. I really want to bring him in January. He embodies everything I want for Benfica: identity, a winning culture, a true Benfica fan. And I can assure you we won’t stop here.”

Manchester City are unlikely to begin talks over a new contract with Silva anytime soon and as has been the policy with players over 30, Guardiola and the board will be monitoring Silva’s performances and fitness levels closely as they navigate what has all the makings of a transitional, topsy-turvy campaign at the Etihad Stadium.