“When I step back, Portugal will be in good hands. Because the team already has a great striker,” Cristiano Ronaldo praised a rising 20-year-old offensive player.
By that, CR7 did not mean João Félix or Gonçalo Ramos, who are currently making waves for the country by the Atlantic. No, the world star was referring to none other than André Silva.
Yes, dear fans of Werder Bremen. The André Silva who recently couldn’t hit a barn door at the Weser and previously showed Timo Werner at RB how to sit most comfortably on the bench. That André Silva was hardly the one Ronaldo meant.
Rather, he was referring to a young man who scored 16 times in 32 league games for FC Porto, assisted six goals, and moved to AC Milan for 38 million in the summer of 2017. As CR7 is famously known for looking into the future, he probably already had the “Eintracht-Frankfurt-Silva” in mind.
From today’s perspective, it’s hard to believe: In his second SGE season 2020/21, Silva scored an incredible 28 goals in 32 Bundesliga games – a Hessian club record that even an Anthony Yeboah could only dream of.
Even though Ronaldo didn’t immediately retire after Silva’s hammer season, the striker had also made a name for himself in the national team. He collected appearances at European and World Championships and scored 19 times in 53 matches for his homeland.
Since the 2022 World Cup, however, the downfall began, and Silva hasn’t played a single international match since. Maybe he’s just taking a four-year break to rise like Dumbledore’s Phoenix at the next World Cup?
In the summer of 2025, Silva finally turned his back on the Bundesliga. For a sweet three million, he moved from Leipzig to LaLiga newcomer Elche. At the Spanish coastal club, the 29-year-old is currently experiencing a small football renaissance.
📸 Aitor Alcalde – 2025 Getty Images
In seven league games, Silva has already scored four times. Against Real Oviedo (1:0), he even scored the winning goal for the Franjiverdes. Just for comparison: Last season, Silva scored exactly two goals in all competitions. So is he now ready to take on Ronaldo’s legacy?
Okay, no Portuguese will probably ever adequately replace a CR7, and Silva is as far from a national team comeback as the retired Toni Kroos. Nevertheless, the striker currently knows where the goal is again – and hints at why he has been responsible for transfer fees of nearly 69 million euros in his career.
If Silva maintains his scoring rate, Portugal coach Roberto Martínez might eventually scroll back through his call history to 2022. Meanwhile, Ronaldo is, of course, also hoping for Silva’s return to the 2026 World Cup. Just so the two can shoot Portugal to the title together – and CR7 can emphasize in the finest German in front of the mics in his siiuu-like manner: “I told you so.”
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
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