Benfica A product of
S.L. Benfica's youth system, Silva played for its ranks, and in 2013 they won the 2012–13
Portuguese Juniors Championship. He made his debut for
Benfica B in a
Segunda Liga match against
Trofense on 10 August 2013 (Matchday 1). On 19 October 2013, Silva made his debut for Benfica at the age of 19, in a
2013–14 Taça de Portugal third round 1–0 away victory against
Campeonato Nacional de Seniores club C.D. Cinfães, coming out of the bench in the 80th minute. His good performance for Benfica B in the
2013–14 Segunda Liga earned him the league's Breakthrough Player of the Year award. He was a member of Benfica's domestic
treble-winning team of the
2013–14 season, playing only 31 minutes in a total of three matches.
Monaco On 7 August 2014, Silva joined
Monaco on one-year loan deal. He made his debut on 17 August in a Ligue 1 away match against
Bordeaux, replacing
Lucas Ocampos in the second half. On 21 September, he made his first start, in a 1–0 home win against
Guingamp. On 14 December, he scored the only goal of a home win against
Marseille. On 20 January 2015, Benfica announced that Silva's economic and sports rights had been sold to Monaco for €15.75 million; he signed a contract for Monaco that would expire on 30 June 2019. On 10 April, he scored twice in a 3–0 away win against
Caen. On 10 August 2015, Silva extended his contract by one year, tying him to the club until June 2020. In the
2016–17 Champions League group stage away match against
CSKA Moscow on 18 October 2016, Silva scored Monaco's equaliser in the 87th minute to ensure that the match finished in 1–1 draw. On 15 January 2017, he scored Monaco's last two goals in a 4–1 away win over Marseille to help Monaco move to the top of the Ligue 1 table for the first time since Week 5 of the current Ligue 1 season. The following 29 January, Silva scored an added-time equaliser in the 1–1 draw against reigning league champions
Paris Saint-Germain at the
Parc des Princes, putting his team on top of the league. He finished the 2016–17 season with 8 goals and 9
assists in the league and 11 goals and 12 assists in 58 matches across all competitions.
Manchester City 2017–2021: Domestic success and European final The calibre of his performances against Manchester City for Monaco in the UEFA Champions League knockout legs in the 2016–17 season was noted by head coach
Pep Guardiola and his backroom staff. Silva officially joined the club on 1 July 2017, ahead of the
2017–18 season. On 13 February 2018, Silva scored his first
Champions League goal for the City in a 4–0 away victory against
Basel in the first leg of the round of 16 stage. On 5 March, Silva scored the solitary winning goal against Chelsea at home – a key win which put them only three wins away from winning the Premier League title. He established himself as a consistent performer, playing the most matches of any City player in the season up to the end of February 2018. By the end of the season, he had played for Manchester City 53 times in all competitions – the most of any City player that season Silva made 51 appearances for Manchester City during the
2018–19 season, scoring 13 goals and adding 14 assists in all competitions. Silva's consistent and influential performances helped his team to win Premier League title, filling in
Kevin De Bruyne's position who missed the majority of the season with an injury. As a result, he was voted into the
PFA Team of the Year alongside four other City players and won the
Manchester City Player of the Season award, voted by the fans. In the
2019–20 season, Silva scored a
hat-trick in an 8–0 thrashing of
Watford in the
Premier League on 21 September. Days later, the FA requested a response from Manchester City after Silva directed a tweet towards his teammate
Benjamin Mendy which likened the player's appearance to that of a dark-skinned advertising mascot, while
Kick It Out, the campaign group against
racism in football, expressed their disappointment at Silva's use of a racist stereotype. Mendy said that he was not offended by the tweet. In November, Silva was banned for one match and fined £50,000 for the tweet. The FA said that Silva did not intend the post to be insulting or in any way racist. In October 2019, Silva was nominated as one among 30 candidates for Ballon d´Or. On 10 January 2021, Silva scored a brace in a 3–0 home win over
Championship side
Birmingham City in the
Third round of the
FA Cup. On 20 January 2021, Silva scored his first league goal of the season in a 2–0 home win over
Aston Villa. On 24 February 2021, Silva scored his first Champions League goal of the season in a 2–0 away win over
Borussia Mönchengladbach in the first leg of the
round of 16 tie.
2021–2026: Consecutive Premier League titles and continental treble In the start of the
2021–22 season, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola revealed that Silva was one of three players that wanted to leave the club in the summer transfer window. It was reported that he was unhappy in Manchester, with Spanish
La Liga side
Atlético Madrid and
Serie A side
Milan being interested in signing him. For his performances, Silva was awarded Manchester City's Player of the Month by the club's supporters for two consecutive months in September and October. On 6 November, in the Manchester derby, Silva scored City's second goal in a 2–0 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford. On 24 November, Silva became the first player in the
Champions League to register a 100% passing rate, being named man of the match, as he provided an assist for
Gabriel Jesus, in City's 2–1 home win against
Paris Saint-Germain in a Champions League group stage match, to ensure his team qualification to the
round of sixteen. For his performances, Silva was named Manchester City's Player of the Month for November, becoming the first player to win the award in three consecutive months. On 15 February 2022, Silva scored a brace and provided an assist in a 5–0 away win over
Sporting CP in the first leg of the
Champions League round of 16 tie, being named man of the match for the second match in a row. Having spent the majority of his first four seasons in Manchester providing width on the right, he was transformed into the ultimate utility player over the course of this season. Though functionally a central midfielder, he has spent time at both centre forward (he scored from there against Manchester United) and defensive midfield. He ended the season with 13 goals and 7 assists in all competitions. On 17 May 2023, Silva scored a brace in a 4–0 win over
Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg, which secured his club's qualification to the second
Champions League final in their history. On 10 June, he provided a crucial assist to
Rodri, who scored the match-winning sole goal in the
Champions League final against
Inter Milan, securing Manchester City's win for their first ever Champions League trophy and completing a
continental treble. He was selected in the
2022–23 UEFA Champions League team of the tournament. On 23 August 2023, he extended his contract until 2026. On 29 October, Silva was lauded for his role in a dominant 3–0 victory against
Manchester United in the
Premier League. On 20 April 2024, he scored City's winner in the 84th minute in a 1–0 victory against
Chelsea in their
FA Cup semi-final. He was appointed club captain ahead of the
2025–26 season, following the departure of
Kevin De Bruyne. Later that year, on 5 November, he reached his
100th Champions League appearance in a 4–1 victory over
Borussia Dortmund. On 5 April 2026, Manchester City assistant manager
Pep Lijnders announced that Silva would leave the club in the summer when his contract expired. Later that month, on 16 April, it was confirmed that he will leave the club at the end of the season. ==International career==