It's over! António Silva on his way out of Benfica | OneFootball

António Silva has already made a decision about his future. The centre-back intends to leave Benfica during the current summer transfer window, bringing an end to a four-season spell with the first team. At 22, the Portugal international believes the time has come to take a new step in his career.

Entering the final year of his contract with the Eagles, the centre-back had a renewal offer until 2031 on the table. The board led by Rui Costa was seeking to secure the continuity of one of the squad’s main figures and presented the offer at the end of May, before the final league matchday against Estoril.

Over the last four seasons, António Silva played 181 matches for Benfica's first team, helping the club win one Primeira Liga title, one League Cup and two Super Cups. In addition to extending his deal, the club was also preparing a significant improvement to the player’s contract terms.

The plan was to hand him the captain’s armband as early as this season and offer him a contract with a progressive salary, starting at more than €1.2 million net per season and reaching €1.5 million by the end of the deal. Even so, the proposal was not enough to convince the Portugal international, who had recently admitted that the process was still open.

Given the player’s stated intention, Benfica’s SAD is now preparing to negotiate a possible transfer, setting a minimum fee in the region of €20 million. The Benfica hierarchy is also aware that this could be the last opportunity to secure a financial return from the player.

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