Rui Faria’s Missed Chance with Bernardo Silva: A Manchester United Regret
Manchester United’s summer is already framed as a reset. New power structures, new faces, a new era under Michael Carrick. Yet a revelation from a familiar figure offers a sharp reminder of how different the last decade might have looked.
Rui Faria, Jose Mourinho’s long-time lieutenant and former United assistant, has revealed he pushed for the club to sign Bernardo Silva back in 2017 – only to watch the Portuguese playmaker cross the city and build a dynasty in sky blue instead.
The one that got away
Faria, who followed Mourinho through six clubs over 17 years, arrived at Old Trafford in 2016 with a clear idea of the kind of technical talent he felt United needed. Bernardo, then 22 and emerging as one of Europe’s most intelligent attackers, was at the top of his list.
“Bernardo Silva is a fantastic player. I remember recommending him to Manchester United in 2017, when he was 22,” Faria told AS. “We tried, but it wasn’t possible, and he ended up at their city rivals.”
The rest of the story is written into Premier League history. Bernardo joined Manchester City, became one of Pep Guardiola’s most trusted lieutenants and helped drive an era of dominance that United could only watch from across town.
Six Premier League titles. A Champions League crown in 2023. A key figure in a side that turned the league into its private playground.
United, meanwhile, cycled through managers and ideas, forever searching for the kind of technical brain Faria believed they could have had in the heart of their team.
From Manchester to Madrid
This summer, that chapter closed in England. Bernardo left City after a nine-year spell that placed him among the club’s modern greats, then walked into another superclub dressing room as a free agent: Real Madrid.
For Faria, now a technical observer for UEFA, there is a sense of completion. He never got to work with Bernardo at Old Trafford, but Mourinho finally has him at the Bernabeu.
“If he’s fit, he can be a game-changer for Real Madrid,” Faria said. “He’s a player with tremendous technical ability, a great understanding of the game, and exceptional intelligence.”
Those are the qualities United lacked all too often in the years that followed 2017. Those are the qualities Real now hope will help wrench La Liga back from their rivals and keep them at the summit of Europe.
Mourinho’s return to Madrid, which Faria believes should never have been interrupted after the 2010–2013 spell, now comes with a ready-made conductor. Not a prospect, not a gamble. A proven winner at the highest level.
United’s new rebuild, old regrets
While City prepare for life without Guardiola, Bernardo and possibly Rodri, United are again in transition. Carrick, heading into his first full season as head coach, must find a way to close the gap on Arsenal and a reshaped City, having finished third last term.
The contrast is brutal. In 2017, United had the financial muscle, the status and the inside recommendation to move for Bernardo. They hesitated. City didn’t. Nine years later, the repercussions still echo.
The question now hangs over the current window. If the club’s football leadership asks for a specific profile, a specific player, will Ineos act decisively? Or will another Bernardo moment slip through their fingers?
Faria steps away, then watches on
Faria himself did not stay long enough at Old Trafford to see the full fallout. He spent exactly two years at United under Mourinho before stepping down at the end of the 2017/18 season to spend more time with his family, ending that remarkable 17-year partnership.
He briefly resurfaced as manager of Al-Duhail in Saudi Arabia in 2019, then moved into his current role with UEFA, analysing Champions League matches from a technical perspective.
From that vantage point, he will likely watch Bernardo again this season – only now in white, orchestrating games for Real Madrid, finally under Mourinho’s command.
For United, it is another stark reminder. In a league where one inspired signing can tilt the balance of power, how many more game-changers can they afford to let slip away?
