Benfica’s pursuit of Fulham manager Marco Silva has been ongoing for the past few weeks.
Real Madrid are keen on appointing José Mourinho as their new manager, forcing the Eagles to look at Silva. His contract expires in June and Fulham want to tie him down to a new deal.
Two days ago, Sport Witness covered claims from Portugal that Silva has chosen Benfica but is unhappy with the delay.
Real Madrid are unlikely to confirm Mourinho’s appointment until their election on June 7th.
Fulham boss restarts negotiations
Monday’s edition of A Bola again points out the Premier League side’s renewal offer worth €7.5m per year until 2030.
The Portuguese club initially suspended negotiations with Marco Silva before restarting on Sunday. The impasse was because Benfica didn’t meet the Fulham manager’s demands.
Apart from the salary demands, for him and his technical staff, Silva ‘insists on autonomy in building a strong squad that guarantees success’. They are now willing to satisfy this.
Silva, who is yet to respond to Fulham’s offer, and Benfica don’t want to drag this case on. The latter have already identified alternatives in case they fail to agree terms with the 48-year-old.
Record state there’s no agreement yet between the parties and a deal won’t be finalised until Real Madrid’s election on June 7th. However, the Eagles continue negotiations with the manager.
Benfica’s initial salary offer didn’t please Silva, at a time when Fulham are proposing over €7m.
On Sunday morning, the deal was almost impossible before fresh talks later that day kept it alive. After the latest talks, he could earn close to €5m per year with the Primeira Liga side.
The parties would have sorted out the salary issue.
Record state: ‘Several messages were conveyed throughout yesterday’s conversations. Benfica were concerned with assuring Silva that he is the only option for the coaching position.’
Silva issues ultimatum
Another newspaper, Correio da Manhã, reports the London club’s boss has sent a clear message to Benfica president Rui Costa.
Silva feels the Eagles have reservations because they haven’t confirmed their break with Mourinho. He also found out that during the impasse, Costa held talks with other targets.
The newspaper states: ‘Silva demanded clarification from Costa regarding the Benfica coach for next season. According to CM, the coach presented the Reds’ president with an ultimatum in a meeting between the parties, which in practice is a demand that the management acknowledge the break with Mourinho.’
‘As far as it was possible to ascertain in time, there was no convincing response, so it is reasonable to assume that Marco Silva will take a drastic step, potentially leading to his resignation.’
To sum it up, Silva wants Benfica to first acknowledge a break with Mourinho, meet his salary demand and give him full control over transfer and other aspects.