Manu Silva

Manu Silva's move to Benfica in January 2025 came with a footnote: Wolverhampton Wanderers had already reached an agreement with Vitória de Guimarães for his signature. Silva chose Benfica instead, citing the chance to play in European competition, and the deal with the Premier League club collapsed. Benfica paid €12m, with add-ons that could take the fee to €14m, and signed him until 2030; Vitória retained a 20% sell-on clause.

The transfer followed a steady rise through Portuguese football. Silva began playing at the age of eight at União de Lamas before moving into Feirense's academy, where he stayed until his senior debut in August 2021 and went on to make 34 appearances for the first team. A January 2023 move to Vitória de Guimarães followed, where he played 58 games and scored six goals.

His start at Benfica was disrupted almost immediately. In February 2025, in a match against Moreirense, Silva suffered a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and underwent surgery, with an initial recovery estimate of eight to twelve months. He returned to limited training in October 2025 and was back to full training the following month.

Away from matches, Silva drew attention in October 2025 when a voice message he had sent to a podcast became public. In it, he called teammate Tomás Araújo a "chorão" — a crybaby — over how he reacted to defeats.