Explaining how and why Bernardo Silva speed-dated Spain's big three of Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and finally Real Madrid

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If you had stopped paying attention to transfers as the World Cup got underway, you might have been confused to see Bernardo Silva close to signing for Real Madrid.

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You see, for football fans of a certain era, the big transfer that never happened was that of Dutch superstar Wesley Sneijder, who seemed to be linked with a move to Manchester United every single summer.

And in the past few years, it has felt as if Silva has long been linked with a move to Barcelona.

He would often speak highly of the club and reporting towards the end of the season made it sound as if he would make the move to the La Liga champions.

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Yet, in an astonishing twist of events, Silva has seemingly gone from his anticipated move to Barcelona, to an Antoine Griezmann replacement at Atletico Madrid and then finally to a leader of the new Jose Mourinho era at Real Madrid.

How on earth did all this happen? Let's break it down.

The Barca problem

As we mentioned before, it felt at one stage like a matter of when, not if, with regards to Silva's possible move to Barcelona.

However, even at the end of May, it was reported by The Times that Silva's contract at the Catalan giants would not be paying him a high salary or guarantee him playing time.

The report mentioned that he had options from Atletico (more on them later) as well as his former club Benfica, where he wanted to end his career, but he felt he could still contribute to Barcelona, where he also has family.

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"The name of Bernardo appeared within the plans of Barca and the sporting director Deco," explains Eurosport Spain's Nacho Escobar, who pointed out that Silva's agent Jorge Mendes has a good relationship with the hierarchy in Barcelona.

"And the information we had was that he was signing with Barcelona."

But everything was not rosy with this possibility...

The Atletico option

So as Escobar points out: "Earlier, there were rumours that Bernardo had options between Atletico and Juventus, and that it was Atleti who was in pole position for signing the ex-City player."

However, Atleti were then overtaken by Barcelona, but they refused to give up in the chase.

Speaking after Portugal's World Cup warm-up friendly against Chile, Silva mentioned that he wanted to be somewhere he would be appreciated.

”Barcelona is an option I have, but I haven’t made a decision yet,” he said.

”In the end, I’m going to try to find a team where they want me, where I feel truly wanted. That’s very important, and you’ll know the day I make my decision.”

It was reported by Jijantes, which is owned by prominent Barcelona journalist Gerard Romero, that Silva was leaning towards Atletico because he was being given more assurances over playing time.

Silva played on the right earlier in his career but has recently been playing more as a No. 8, where Barcelona already have Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, as well as Gavi and Fermin Lopez.

ESPN reported that Atletico manager Diego Simeone had seen him as an ideal replacement for Griezmann - who was leaving to join Orlando City - a player who could play a number of positions and help set the tone.

However, there was to be a third twist.

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The Real swoop

Late on Thursday night, it was widely reported that instead of either Barca or Atletico, Silva would instead sign for their arch-rivals, Real Madrid.

How on earth did Real come out of nowhere in this race?

"The official signing of Jose Mourinho [as manager] seems to have moved everything faster with Bernardo," Escobar says.

"Real Madrid needs that profile in the team, a player who is really creative and can play in different positions.

"The problems with Barcelona and Atletico seemed to be with his contract amount. Real Madrid offered him better conditions, both financially and on the pitch."

Escobar explains that at Real, Silva will have the chance to start either on the right or as one of the No. 8s, with a far clearer path to playing time compared to Atletico and, more specifically, Barcelona.

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He also adds when asked about the importance for Real of signing a player with the experience of Silva: "Yes! No doubts about it. Real Madrid needs that experience in the midfield too.

"A player, like Bernardo Silva, who isn't afraid of having the ball and ordering his team-mates."

Most observers of Real over the past season or two have commented on the leadership void left by the departures of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

The hiring of Mourinho as manager certainly adds more gravitas and leadership on the bench, but that is also needed on the pitch, and that can certainly explain why the new boss was so keen to lure his compatriot to the Bernabeu.

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