Bernardo Silva has practically ‘vanished’ from Real Madrid‘s team in a ‘mystery’ case, according to the Spanish press.
The midfielder, 32, has only played for 15 minutes in the last month – eight with Real Madrid and seven with Portugal.
And it has left people wondering where he fits into Jose Mourinho‘s plans with other players seemingly higher in the pecking order after his summer switch from Manchester City.
Silva started in three of Madrid’s first five league matches but has been left to stew on the bench for the next three, only coming on late against Atletico Madrid.
Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Eduardo Camavinga are all currently preferred to him in Madrid’s system, which features two defensive midfielders.
Mourinho called out Silva for his lack of fitness in August, saying: ‘He’s a very important player for us, but the poor guy, when he goes on vacation, he likes to disconnect completely, he doesn’t do any work.
Bernardo Silva has ‘vanished’ from Real Madrid’s team in the last month, confusing observers
‘So he arrived for pre-season with much lower physical fitness, and he has to improve.’
But the Spanish press claim fitness is no excuse for the Portuguese at this stage of the season, especially after he played in the first five La Liga games.
His form, they write, has actually been reasonably good – but he has hardly had a sniff in recent weeks for club and country.
‘The river of Bernardo Silva is starting to run dry,’ write AS.
‘He’s vanished: only 15 minutes, between Real Madrid and Portugal, in the last 30 days. An unexpected case. A surprising case. A mystery.’
The publication added: ‘[He] now barely makes an impact. The return of Tchouameni, coupled with Camavinga overtaking him, has slowed him down.
‘But losing momentum is one thing, and this complete standstill is quite another. Almost to nothing. They’re looking for Bernardo Silva. He hasn’t found consistency.’
Meanwhile, Marca wrote: ‘Mourinho saw Bernardo Silva as an option in midfield at the start of the season, partnering Valverde in the double pivot. He doesn’t have the stamina or drive of the Uruguayan, but his play could have given Real Madrid’s football structure. It didn’t work out.
‘The other option Mourinho could have considered was giving him more freedom as an attacking midfielder or closer to the penalty area, but this has barely happened, and when it has, it’s been to provide an attacking spark off the bench. It hasn’t had the desired effect, although it hasn’t been for long.’
Marca added: ‘Without Rodri (who they wanted to sign), the manager thought Bernardo Silva could provide that same quality on the pitch, but so far that hasn’t been the case.’
Madrid have endured a difficult start to the season by their standards and are sat fourth in the league, already six points behind Barcelona, who have a perfect record.
They were furious after their 2-1 defeat by Atletico Madrid before the international break, a game which saw Dean Huijsen sent off. Los Blancos felt their city rivals should have had two men dismissed. It prompted Mourinho to rant about the ‘poor’ referee Ortiz Arias, who he suggested was unqualified, and led to the club releasing an official statement condemning the ‘very terrible refereeing’.
Wednesday night gives them an opportunity to bolster their Champions League hopes – and perhaps give Silva another chance in midfield – as they travel to unbeaten Roma.
