Bernardo Silva criticizes Benfica for letting promising talents go.

Bernardo Silva speaks out and drops a bombshell about Benfica: the club that wasted a golden generation!

Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva, currently on the verge of leaving Manchester City, has launched harsh criticisms at Benfica’s policy regarding the investment in the young talents of his generation. In an exclusive interview with DAZN, the star did not hesitate to denounce what he considers a serious mistake by the Lisbon club in allowing a mass exodus of one of its best batches, which would later prove to be a goldmine for Portuguese football.

“Speaking specifically about Benfica, the club’s youth academy went through a difficult phase for many years where it couldn’t produce players. And I think a distrust was created in Benfica’s academy for many years, where the academy player was not working, was not good enough. And then, when they made the mistake of letting our entire generation leave, which then ended up having a lot of success, I think it was a wake-up call: ‘Hold on, maybe Benfica’s academy actually works.’” This was Bernardo Silva’s blunt assessment, as he did not hold back in his criticisms of the club that nurtured him.

The Portuguese international highlights that the awakening to the true value of Benfica’s training only occurred after his generation was released, paving the way for young players like João Félix, Renato Sanches, and Gonçalo Guedes to shine in the first team. “I think that the generation after ours is already being utilized; when we look, for example, at [João] Félix, at Renato [Sanches], at Gonçalo Guedes, these are some examples and there are more, and later even more will come. We see that perhaps our generation served a bit to wake things up again.”

Bernardo also highlights the historical advantage of rivals in youth development: “Sporting not so much because Sporting has always managed to launch and always managed to develop. FC Porto does not do it as frequently as Sporting, but they do as well. But mainly Benfica: Hold on, the youth player, perhaps we have here a… another method of achieving success in Benfica’s first team and I think that was good.”

In an emotional retrospective, the midfielder recalled the teammates he grew up with, such as João Cancelo, with whom he shared seven years at Benfica, and other names who have followed different paths, but who today shine in national and international football. “I was very lucky with my generation. We had a lot of guys who had a lot of success, at different levels, but who had a lot of success. Looking from Cancelo, who is my age, and with whom I spent seven years at Benfica, to other teammates, like Fábio Cardoso, who took a different path and ended up going to Porto, or Bruno Varela, or… or even rivals like Bruno or Palhinha. Horta, a great friend, who left Benfica and is now making a spectacular journey at Braga, and other examples.”

Bernardo Silva’s future is open, and the midfielder promises to define his next destination before the start of the 2026 World Cup. His fierce criticism of Benfica sheds light on a troubled phase for the red formation, which only after wasting a generation of stars realized the value of its talents.

With these statements, Bernardo Silva not only reveals the behind-the-scenes of Portuguese football but also challenges Benfica’s management to reflect on the decisions that shaped his career and that of many other promising young players. A warning that cannot be ignored.

This article first appeared on Apito Final.