The Game Turned Late
Fulham confirmed on Tuesday that manager Marco Silva will leave after five seasons, ending a reign that began with immediate promotion back to the Premier League.
The 48-year-old Lisbon native guided Fulham to the Championship title in 2022 — his first season in charge — marking the club's return to the top flight. That achievement stands as the most tangible result of his five-year stint in west London.
The numbers are doing most of the announcement work here, which is usually how teams prefer it.
The Small Details Added Up
Silva spent the past nine years in English football, with prior roles at Hull City, Watford and Everton. Sources told BBC Sport's Sami Mokbel that Fulham offered the manager a contract extension, but he declined to sign it.
He is widely expected to take over at Benfica, where current manager Jose Mourinho is poised to return to Real Madrid after just one season in Lisbon.
The Table Looks Different
Mourinho's brief tenure ends with Benfica finishing third in the Primeira Liga, eight points behind champions Porto. His previous spell at the Bernabeu ran from 2010 to 2013, yielding a Copa del Rey in 2011 and a La Liga title in 2012.
The move would bring Silva full circle — a Portuguese manager taking over from a Portuguese manager at his hometown club, with neither stay lasting longer than a single campaign.