Mourinho eyes Rui Silva, Benfica boss impressed by the Portuguese | OneFootball

In the aftermath of the victory of Benfica against Famalicão (1‑0), José Mourinho made a curious and exciting reference to a young talent who has been gaining prominence in the youth teams of the club from Luz. In the press conference, the coach took the opportunity to highlight a name that is beginning to attract attention from the club's structure: Rui Silva.

The center-back, trained in Benfica's youth ranks, started the season with Benfica B and established himself as an important player in the team's performance in the Youth League. Mourinho's reference came as a compliment, emphasizing the depth of the central defenders available, highlighting that the Club is “absolutely calm” with the available solutions.

Rui Silva was born in the parish of Mouçós, in Vila Real, and joined Benfica's schools at a very young age, in 2017, at just 11 years old. After a period at the training center in Viseu, the young center-back moved permanently to Seixal in 2019, where he has consistently progressed through the different youth levels of the club.

Last season, he was a key player in winning the Revelation Cup with Benfica's under-23 team, the first title in the history of the category, being one of the most used players throughout the campaign, second only to one of his sector teammates.

In the 2025/26 season, only with the Benfica jersey, Rui Silva – valued at 350 thousand euros – has played 17 matches: four for the under-23s, six for the juniors, and seven for the B team. In the 1,381 minutes he has been on the field, the center-back has neither scored nor assisted.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.