_wide.jpg) Silva withBeşiktaş in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rafael Alexandre Fernandes Ferreira da Silva | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1993-05-17)17 May 1993 (age 32) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder,winger,second striker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Beşiktaş | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Povoense | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2011 | Alverca | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Feirense | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Feirense | 41 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Braga | 88 | (13) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2024 | Benfica | 206 | (64) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Beşiktaş | 45 | (17) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Portugal U20 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Portugal U21 | 13 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2021 | Portugal | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:13, 2 November 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rafael Alexandre Fernandes Ferreira da SilvaComM (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈʁafɐˈsilvɐ]; born 17 May 1993), known asRafa Silva orRafa, is a Portuguesefootballer who plays as awinger orsecond striker forSüper Lig clubBeşiktaş.
After starting his professional career atFeirense, Silva transferred toBraga in 2013 and went on to make 127 appearances for them, scoring 26 goals winning theTaça de Portugal in2016. He joinedBenfica that year for €16.4 million, winning three Primeira Liga championships and another cup during his spell. In June 2024, he joinedBeşiktaş J.K.
A full international from 2014 to 2021, Silva representedPortugal on 25 occasions. He was selected for the2014 FIFA World Cup,UEFA Euro 2016, the2019 UEFA Nations League Finals andUEFA Euro 2020, winning the 2016 and 2019 tournaments.
Born inVila Franca de Xira, Silva grew up inForte da Casa and started playing football withPovoense andAlverca, both in theLisbon District.[2] In 2011, aged 18, he signed withFeirense with which he played his last year as a junior.
Silva made his professional debut on 29 July 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 home win againstPenafiel forthe season'sTaça da Liga.[3] He only missed one game inthe league campaign, totalling more than 3,200 minutes of action to help his team finish 13th in theSegunda Liga.[4][5]
In June 2013, Silva signed a five-year contract withBraga for an undisclosed fee.[6] On 10 November he scored his first goals, striking twice in a 3–1 win atOlhanense inthe fourth round of theTaça de Portugal;[7] nineteen days later he scored for the first time in the league, in a 4–1 home win over the same opposition.[8] He finishedhis first year with 23 appearances and three goals[9] to help to a ninth-place finish.
The following season, Silva was ever-present in the league, starting all but one game. He scored three times in the2014–15 Taça de Portugal, including one inthe final which they lost in apenalty shootout toSporting CP at theEstádio Nacional on 31 May 2015.[10]
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Silva scored the only goal on hisUEFA Europa League debut on 17 September 2015 to defeatSlovan Liberec away,[11] and added two further goals in a run tothe quarter-finals. After a2015–16 season in which Braga won thecup final againstFC Porto, he was coveted byBenfica.[12]
On 1 September 2016, defending champions Benfica announced that Silva had signed a five-year contract with the club, in a deal totalling €16.4 million. His release clause was set at €60 million.[13][14] He made his debut eight days later, starting in a 2–1 win atArouca.[15]
In his 14th game, on 22 January 2017, as a late substitute forKostas Mitroglou, Silva scored his first goal for the team in a 4–0 win overTondela at theEstádio da Luz.[16] Inthat season, he also played seven minutes inthe final of the domestic cup, won after defeatingVitória de Guimarães 2–1.[17]
Silva scored his ninth league goal of2018–19 on 2 March 2019, in a 2–1 away victory against Porto; Benfica leapfrogged the opposition and took first place with ten rounds remaining.[18][19] He ended the season with a career-best 17 league goals, bettered only by teammateHaris Seferovic (23 goals) andBruno Fernandes (20) in the whole division.[20] After the season ended, his contract was renewed until 2024 and its buyout clause increased to €80 million.[21]
On 4 August 2019, Silva scored the opening goal of a 5–0 win for Benfica in the2019 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, against city rivals Sporting at theEstádio Algarve.[22] On 23 October, he scored his firstChampions League goal in a 2–1 victory overLyon.[23] The following 17 January, days after returning from a three-month injury,[24] he scored both goals in a win away to the same team.[25]
On 25 October 2022, he scored abrace in a 4–3 victory overJuventus, which qualified his club to theknockout phase.[26] On 27 May 2023, he scored a goal in a 3–0 victory overSanta Clara, securing his club'sPrimeira Liga title for the first time since 2018–19.[27]
On 12 May 2024, he netted a brace and provided an assist in a 5–0 win overArouca, marking his final match for Benfica at theEstádio da Luz.[28] He finished his last season at the club as top scorer with 14 goals in the league out of 22 in all competitions.[29]
On 25 June 2024,Süper Lig clubBeşiktaş announced that Silva arrived in Istanbul to complete his transfer to the club.[30]
Silva made his first appearance for thePortugal under-20 team on 23 April 2013, againstUzbekistan.[31] He was not selected tothat year'sFIFA U-20 World Cup.
On 28 February 2014, Silva received his first callup forthe senior side, for an exhibition game withCameroon on 5 March.[32] He played the first 45 minutes of the game, in a 5–1 win inLeiria.[33] On 19 May, he was named in the final 23-man squad for the2014 FIFA World Cup,[34] remaining unused in Brazil as his team were knocked out in thegroup stage.
After scoring in both games againstAzerbaijan inqualification,[35][36] Silva was part of theunder-21 team that finished as runners-up at the2015 UEFA European Championship in the Czech Republic.[37] He returned to the full side forUEFA Euro 2016,[38] making his only appearance in the competition on 18 June by coming on as an 89th-minutesubstitute forNani in a 0–0 draw withAustria at theParc des Princes.[39]
Silva missed over two years of international football from September 2016 to October 2018, returning againstPoland in theUEFA Nations League; he was selected for thefinal tournament on home soil where he played the final 15 minutes of the 1–0 win over theNetherlands. AtUEFA Euro 2020, delayed to 2021, he played two group games off the bench, winning a penalty and assistingCristiano Ronaldo in a 3–0 win overHungary.[40]
On 19 September 2022, Silva announced his retirement from international football, citing personal reasons.[41]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Feirense | 2012–13 | Segunda Liga | 41 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 47 | 11 | ||
| Braga | 2013–14 | Primeira Liga | 23 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 32 | 9 | |
| 2014–15 | 34 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 5 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 30 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12[c] | 3 | — | 50 | 12 | |||
| 2016–17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 88 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 127 | 26 | ||
| Benfica | 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 20 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 |
| 2017–18 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 3 | ||
| 2018–19 | 26 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12[f] | 0 | — | 44 | 21 | |||
| 2019–20 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5[g] | 2 | 1[d] | 1 | 36 | 11 | ||
| 2020–21 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9[h] | 3 | 1[d] | 0 | 46 | 9 | ||
| 2021–22 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13[e] | 3 | — | 45 | 12 | |||
| 2022–23 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14[e] | 6 | — | 47 | 14 | |||
| 2023–24 | 30 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 12[i] | 4 | 1[d] | 0 | 52 | 22 | ||
| Total | 206 | 64 | 29 | 9 | 19 | 2 | 69 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 326 | 94 | ||
| Beşiktaş | 2024–25 | Süper Lig | 35 | 12 | 3 | 2 | — | 10[c] | 3 | 1[j] | 1 | 49 | 18 | |
| 2025–26 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 6[k] | 0 | — | 16 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 17 | 3 | 2 | — | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 65 | 23 | |||
| Career total | 380 | 104 | 50 | 19 | 33 | 5 | 97 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 565 | 154 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 2014 | 3 | 0 |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 0 | |
Braga[43]
Benfica[43]
Beşiktaş[43]
Portugal[43]
Individual
Commander of theOrder of Merit[49]
Portugal squads | |||||||||||||
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