“The most important thing for a footballer is confidence” – revitalised Portugal forward Fábio Silva on life in La Liga, Atletico Madrid links, bond with Nuno and realising his Cristiano Ronaldo dream | OneFootball

Las Palmas striker Fábio Silva is the leading Portuguese goalscorer across Europe’s big five leagues, having re-energised his career in Spain’s La Liga with the Canary Islands side.

On-loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Silva gave an interview to The Athletic earlier this week in which he discussed a season which has already seen him score against both Real Madid and Barcelona on the road, while touching on some of his experiences following a big-money move to England.

Although Silva is a familiar name in Portugal as well as England, Scotland, Netherlands and Belgium owing to a nomadic career journey thus far, the former Porto forward is still just 22 years old. Many would agree that multiple loan moves abroad are a consequence of a premature departure from his homeland – an issue much-discussed in recent years

“Sometimes people forget the age I am because I started early,” Silva told The Athletic. “I had to improve too quickly at Wolves. People expected one thing and sometimes forgot my age because of the price. When people come from other places or to take pictures they say, ‘I’ve seen you for many years, you must be 25 or 26 now’, but I have to say, ‘No, I’m only 22’.”

At Wolves I couldn't make mistakes - Silva

Wolves paid Porto an astonishing €40m for Silva back in 2020 when the striker was 18 and had barely featured for the Dragons. To this day, only six teenagers in football have commanded a higher transfer fee: Kylian Mbappé, João Félix, Matthijs de Ligt, Anthony Martial, Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior.

Silva admitted last year that the move to the Premier League was ill-timed, with Porto putting pressure on the teenager to agree to the transfer in order to help the club financially. Asked to reflect on his spell in England, Silva concedes there was probably too much demanded of him, but praised Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo for his man management.

“Everything around me in my life was too quick,” he said. “The idea was to stay two or three years at Porto and play some games. But in football I didn’t control some things and, in that moment, I couldn’t do anything.

“It was very difficult because playing in a team like Wolves you don’t have the ball all the time, so you have to suffer and play counter attacks. Some times the centre-backs and midfielders would play the ball to me to hold it up, but I was not so strong. I was up against players like Kurt Zouma and Thiago Silva (when Wolves played Chelsea) who were big and strong. I was thinking, ‘Wow, this is a big level’. I was putting too much pressure, but I had to manage that in my head.

“I came at 18 to the best league in the world and with all the noise around me. I feel like I didn’t have time and space to make mistakes. Everything had to be perfect. I think I’m different because of that, so I have to live with it. But I like to live with that pressure.

“The year I spent with Nuno was really good. He was the coach who empowered me and, from the first day, he was very honest with me. He said I had to wait for my opportunity and to trust him that it was going to come. He always gave me the words to keep me happy.

“Sometimes, when I didn’t play, he came and spoke to me. I give him a lot of credit as he knew I was young and away from my family in a different country. He always had that love for me so he was a special coach for me and I am happy to see him doing well (at Nottingham Forest). He is a very good person.”

New life in Spain, Atletico links

Having already turned out for Porto, Wolves, PSV, Anderlecht and Rangers, Silva decided to try a 6th different league last summer when Las Palmas offered terms for another loan move. With 9 goal contributions (7 goals + 2 assists) in La Liga so far, Silva has impressed in his new surroundings, not least by scoring in the first minute against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu and notching a winner at Barcelona.

Asked about those highlights, Silva said: “When I was doing the warm-up [at the Bernabeu] I was already thinking, ‘Wow’,” Since I was a kid, because of Cristiano being my idol, the league I paid most attention to was Spain.

“Barca, Real, Atletico. You dream to play against these teams, so scoring on that pitch against those amazing players with my family there was something special. I know I can be there on that stage.

“Good finish against Barca? This is the point. Sometimes the most important thing as a footballer is the confidence and the way the club give you it. If I see the goal back I didn’t have that idea, but it was too quick as the pass was too strong, so I didn’t have the time to think. The right-back was close to me so I had to control it with my head and finish quickly. You see the details when you’re home on the video.

“The interest from Atletico is something I leave to my agent, Carlos Oliveira. My focus is on Las Palmas and achieving the season’s goal, which is to stay in the division. But what can I say about Atletico? It’s one of the best clubs in this league and the world. [Diego] Simeone is one of the best coaches in the world.

“But I’m happy at Las Palmas. I have an excellent relationship with the coach, the president and the people at the club. Here, I feel appreciated, and I needed that for my career — a place that welcomed me and suited my playing style.

“If you see the other counties I’ve been… maybe because it’s Spain and people watch it more than Scotland, Belgium or Holland, but I think I did a very good job. I played a different position at Rangers and PSV so I had to adapt. The Scottish league is more physical so I feel more comfortable in that aspect of the game, being prepared to help the team without the ball and connecting the team.”

Seleção pride

Silva is correct to suggest the Spanish league offers visibility some of his other adventures did not, which became evident when he received his first senior call-up for the Portugal team in November, making his debut as a substitute as Roberto Martínez’s men drew 1-1 against Croatia in the Nations League.

“I’ll tell you the truth,” he says. “When we played Croatia and were leaving the dressing room for the warm-up, I looked at myself. I said, ‘I am finally here’.

“I was so proud of my resilience and my patience, that all the things I’ve done in the past had helped me reach here. I felt a lot of pride to be training with Cristiano (Ronaldo), but to debut for my country was special as it is every kid’s dream.”