Bernardo Silva has played only eight minutes in La Liga since 15 September, and Real Madrid already look to be using him far less than they expected when he arrived. He started the first two league matches in the double pivot with Federico Valverde, then his minutes dried up quickly. Mourinho has also questioned where he is physically.
Mourinho's fitness concerns
Speaking to SPORT1, José Mourinho said: "He arrived for preseason in significantly worse physical condition, and he has to improve there."
Mourinho added: "He was a kind of guy for whom it does him good to just do nothing on vacation."
Those comments sit alongside a thin start to the season. Silva has made six La Liga appearances, but only 242 minutes overall, and he has one goal contribution. He did at least make an immediate impact in one cameo, coming on in the 82nd minute against the city rivals and setting up Antonio Rüdiger's winning goal.
Madrid's midfield pecking order
The issue is not that Silva has been invisible, it is that he has been crowded out. Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde have increasingly displaced him in midfield, while Mourinho's 4-3-2-1 leaves him without an obvious permanent slot. His 6.66 average rating is respectable, but not enough to force a rethink of the order above him.
Real Madrid signed Silva on a free transfer after nine years at Manchester City in a 36-hour deal, so the expectation was that he would plug a midfield gap quickly. Instead, the early pattern points the other way, with the club moving through league games and Silva slipping into a bit-part role. The next league match will show whether those eight minutes since mid-September were a temporary dip or the start of a longer squeeze.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
