Portuguese coach Marco Silva is the new Benfica coach, signing a two-year contract with an option for another year. Silva, 48, succeeds José Mourinho, who will join Real Madrid after leading Benfica for about eight months, finishing third in the I Liga without a loss, but eight points behind champion FC Porto and two points behind second-placed Sporting, missing out on the next edition of the Champions League. After five seasons with Fulham, Silva ends a decade-long career in English football, which began with Hull City (2016/17), followed by Watford (2017/18) and Everton (2018-2019), before joining the 'cottagers' in 2021/22, the only season he did not play in the Premier League. In that year, he led the Londoners to the Championship title, the second tier in England, and promotion to the Premier League, where he achieved consecutive 10th (2022/23), 13th (2023/24), 11th (2024/25), and 11th (2025/26) places, always with records in the order of 50 points (52 in 2022/23, 47 in 2023/24, 54 in 2024/25, and 52 in 2025/26). With a coaching career started at Estoril Praia – the club where he retired as a player and also served as director-desportivo for a few months – he won the II Liga title with the estorilistas in the first season, in 2011/12, and in the two following seasons, he led them to 5th and 4th places in the top tier, as well as qualification for the Europa League in both. Later, he joined Sporting and, in the only season he commanded the 'leões', he finished third in the I Liga and won the Taça de Portugal, in a final against Sporting de Braga, in 2014/15. Between leaving the 'verdes e brancos' and going to England, he guided the Greeks of Olympiacos, for whom he won the Greek championship (2015/16). Marco Silva is the sixth coach of Benfica since Rui Costa took over the presidency of the club in 2021, with the 'águias' being led by Jorge Jesus, Nélson Veríssimo, Roger Schmidt, Bruno Lage, and José Mourinho, but only achieving one championship title, under the German's command, in 2022/23. Benfica officially announced this Tuesday the departure of coach José Mourinho to Real Madrid, which paid 15 million euros (ME) in indemnification, according to the statement sent by the I Liga football club to the market regulator. Tagus Park – Edifício Tecnologia 4.1 Avenida Professor Doutor Cavaco Silva, nº 71 a 74 2740-122 – Porto Salvo, Portugal online@medianove.com