Rafa Silva became Jose Mourinho’s first Benfica signing by returning to Lisbon after a drawn-out process.
The 25-time Portugal international joined Besiktas from the Eagles in 2024 but it never worked out and he publicly chased a departure.
Silva finally got his return to Benfica last week amid claims he refused to play for Besiktas, something head coach Sergen Yalçın has now corroborated.
“Rafa Silva’s case is more serious than Aboubakar’s,” he said of another player who refused to play.
“I’ve never seen a player like Rafa in my life. Imagine a player, the most expensive in the team, suddenly saying: ‘I’m not going to play and I’m not going to train’.
“We can’t do anything. They might say: ‘You wouldn’t be able to handle that’. How do you know? Were you with us?
“Dealing with a situation like that was difficult. We did the best thing by selling him.
“I called Rafa and spoke to him, telling him: ‘You are our best player, the players trust you, you need to lead us to our objective’.
“I told him things I didn’t believe, but even so it didn’t work.”
Mourinho has a slightly different view on Silva, saying of the attacker: “Rafa Silva is coming to help with his Benfica spirit and love for the club.”
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