Bernardo Silva’s first appearance in a Real Madrid shirt offered supporters an early glimpse of one of the club’s marquee summer arrivals, but José Mourinho believes there is still work to be done before the Portuguese midfielder reaches his usual standards. After handing Silva his debut in a pre-season victory over Ferencváros, the Real Madrid coach admitted his compatriot is behind physically following his summer break, while making it clear he has no doubts about the quality the 32-year-old will eventually bring to the team.
Mourinho assesses Bernardo’s first outing
Bernardo made his unofficial Real Madrid debut during the club’s 2-1 pre-season victory over Ferencváros in Budapest after joining on a free transfer earlier this summer following the expiry of his Manchester City contract.The Portuguese midfielder came on at half-time in place of Brahim Díaz and played 48 minutes, initially operating in a deeper midfield role before Mourinho later moved him into the No. 10 position.
Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva speaks during a press conference in Manchester, England, Monday March 16, 2026, one day ahead of their Champions League soccer match against Real Madrid. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
Speaking to Real Madrid TV after the match, Mourinho explained that Silva is still working his way back to full fitness after returning from his holidays.“Bernardo has not had minutes and has only had a couple of days of training. It’s very important, but the poor thing has had vacations,” Mourinho said, according to Diario SPORT.“It is good for him not to do anything during the holidays and he has presented himself in a lower physical condition than he usually has and he has to grow, but he is a tremendous player.”The Real Madrid manager added that moving Silva further forward during the second half was a deliberate tactical decision.“He gives us the ball out, he can play as a 6, as an 8. During the match I understood that he lacked physical strength and I put him in 10.”“It’s another position that Bernardo can play well. For a coach it is perfect to have someone who plays well in three or four positions.”
Bernardo focused on building match fitness
Despite the public assessment of his fitness, Silva described joining Real Madrid as an opportunity he could not turn down.The Portugal international said he was proud to wear the club’s shirt and is now concentrating on regaining full match sharpness ahead of the new season.His immediate priority is to build his physical rhythm before Real Madrid begin their La Liga campaign away to Espanyol later this month.
Mourinho still wants another midfielder
Although Real Madrid have strengthened significantly this summer with the arrivals of Yan Diomande, Bernardo Silva, Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté, Denzel Dumfries and Carlos Espí, Mourinho admitted he still wants another versatile midfielder.“We want a short squad, with 20 players plus the injured ones, which we have for some time, such as Rodrygo, Militao, Ferland (Mendy). We also need a player who can do what Bernardo does, which is play in different positions,” he said.That desire has reportedly become even stronger after Rodri opted to join Barcelona instead of Real Madrid during the summer.For now, Real Madrid still have pre-season fixtures against Deportivo La Coruña and Schalke 04 before opening their league campaign. While Mourinho believes Bernardo Silva still has ground to make up physically, his comments also underlined why the club pursued the experienced midfielder in the first place: his versatility and tactical intelligence remain qualities the new Real Madrid coach values highly.
