While Benfica beat Estrela 4-0 in the 19th week of the Portuguese Premier League, Rafa Silva, who was transferred from Beşiktaş by the Red-Whites, played for the first time in his new team. Rafa, who started the match on the bench, replaced Fredrik Aursnes in the 73rd minute.
APPLAUSE AND BOOING TOGETHER FOR RAFA SILVA
The Portuguese winger, who played with his former team after 1 year and 8 months, was transferred to Beşiktaş without a transfer and drew the reaction of the red and white fans on social media due to the payment of money for his return to Benfica. When Rafa entered the field in the 73rd minute, he received a standing ovation from the majority, but it was also notable that boos and whistles were heard from some of the stands.
Rafa Silva entered the game in the 73rd minute for Benfica!@ankerturkiye pic.twitter.com/l21M51v2e5
— Tivibu Spor (@tivibuspor) January 25, 2026
“RAFA SILVA IS HERE TO HELP US”
Meanwhile, Benfica Coach Jose Mourinho, in his statement after the match, evaluated which position Rafa Silva could play and emphasized the player’s desire to return to Benfica. Portuguese coach for Rafa “Obviously, he won’t play centre-back or defensive midfielder. But he will play wherever he needs to play. He is a special player. A top-level player. If he doesn’t play as number 10, he plays as number 9. If he doesn’t play as number 9, he plays on the right wing. If he doesn’t play on the right, he plays on the left. He came here to help. He is here to help us with his simplicity, his humility, his Benfica spirit and his love for the club.” he said.
“I SAID TO RAFA, ‘PLAY AND BE HAPPY’”
Mourinho also talked about the motivational speech he made as the experienced football player entered the game and said: “I told Rafa coming into the game, ‘play and be happy’. Obviously he is not at his best yet, there are some drops in the tempo of the game.” he said.
“THAT SUCH THING WAS NOT HAPPENING IN BEŞİKTAŞ”
Experienced coach emphasized that the Portuguese star has not participated in training with the Beşiktaş team for a while. “He made a good start. He will have another week to train. He will not be on the field on Wednesday, but he will have a week to train with the players. This did not happen in Beşiktaş because he trained alone. It should also be taken into consideration that if he played 20 minutes today, he could get more playing time against Tondela next week.” he said.
