Rafa Silva

Feirense

Born in Vila Franca de Xira, Silva grew up in Forte da Casa and started playing football with Povoense and Alverca, both in the Lisbon District. In 2011, aged 18, he signed with Feirense 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 against Penafiel for the season's Taça da Liga. He only missed one game in the league campaign, totalling more than 3,200 minutes of action to help his team finish 13th in the Segunda Liga.

Braga

In June 2013, Silva signed a five-year contract with Braga for an undisclosed fee. On 10 November he scored his first goals, striking twice in a 3–1 win at Olhanense in the fourth round of the Taça de Portugal; nineteen days later he scored for the first time in the league, in a 4–1 home win over the same opposition. He finished his first year with 23 appearances and three goals 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 the 2014–15 Taça de Portugal, including one in the final which they lost in a penalty shootout to Sporting CP at the Estádio Nacional on 31 May 2015.

Silva scored the only goal on his UEFA Europa League debut on 17 September 2015 to defeat Slovan Liberec away, and added two further goals in a run to the quarter-finals. After a 2015–16 season in which Braga won the cup final against FC Porto, he was coveted by…

Silva made his first appearance for the Portugal under-20 team on 23 April 2013, against Uzbekistan. He was not selected to that year's FIFA U-20 World Cup. On 28 February 2014, Silva received his first callup for the senior side, for an exhibition game with Cameroon on 5 March. He played the first 45 minutes of the game, in a 5–1 win in Leiria. On 19 May, he was named in the final 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, remaining unused in Brazil as his team were knocked out in the group stage. After scoring in both games against Azerbaijan in qualification, Silva was part of the under-21 team that finished as runners-up at the 2015 UEFA European Championship in the Czech Republic. He returned to the full side for UEFA Euro 2016, making his only appearance in the competition on 18 June by coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for Nani in a 0–0 draw with Austria at the Parc des Princes. Silva missed over two years of international football from September 2016 to October 2018, returning against Poland in the UEFA Nations League; he was selected for the final tournament on home soil where he played the final 15 minutes of the 1–0 win over the Netherlands. At UEFA Euro 2020, delayed to 2021, he played two group games off the bench, winning a penalty and assisting Cristiano Ronaldo in a 3–0 win over Hungary. On 19 September 2022, Silva announced his retirement from international football, citing personal reasons.

Club

As of match played 5 September 2026

International

Braga

Taça de Portugal: 2015–16 Benfica

Primeira Liga: 2016–17, 2018–19, 2022–23 Taça de Portugal: 2016–17 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2017, 2019, 2023 Beşiktaş

Turkish Super Cup: 2024 Portugal

UEFA European Championship: 2016 UEFA Nations League: 2018–19 Individual

Primeira Liga Goal of the Month: April 2019, March 2022 Primeira Liga top assist provider: 2021–22, 2023–24

Orders

Commander of the Order of Merit