Surprising winner of Borussia Dortmund's start to the season: a beneficiary of the Ronaldo saga is playing in the Bundesliga

Who will ultimately come off worse in the dispute between Portugal coach Jorge Jesus and his superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is still not clear. Last week, CR7 abruptly left the national team camp after his coach told him he would once again not start in the Nations League clash with Denmark. Jorge Jesus had already kept the 41-year-old warming up for a long spell against Norway, only not to use him. One of the clear winners from it all, though, is Dortmund's Fabio Silva.

Silva had already made it plain a few days earlier how awkward this was likely to feel for him, before there was even any sign of the superstar's departure. "I always wanted to have the chance to have these moments with him, to learn from him," he said. The 24-year-old called Ronaldo "my idol. The person who inspired me, even when I was still little." CR7 is gone now, which rules him out of Sunday's Nations League home game against Norway. Fabio Silva, by contrast, is in the frame.

Only once before has the Dortmund player been called up to the senior national team. In November 2024, he made his debut for the Seleccao off the bench in the Nations League against Croatia, a match in which they also had to do without Cristiano Ronaldo because he was struggling with inflammation in his foot. He has now met the superstar for the first time in training and, after his departure, moved up a place in the internal pecking order.

For Silva, that meant this: after missing out on Jorge Jesus's squad for the first two Nations League matches, he was named on the bench in Denmark for the first time, even though he did not come on. At 8.45pm on Sunday, he gets his next chance at the Estadio da Dragao in Porto to win his second cap.

How is Fabio Silva getting on at BVB this season?

Even then, Silva is likely to get only a brief run-out, which is exactly how he earned this call-up in a BVB shirt. As last season, Serhou Guirassy remains first choice through the middle under Dortmund coach Niko Kovac.

As a hard-running, committed forward, Fabio Silva can play around the Guinea international and inject fresh energy when BVB need it. He did exactly that at Hoffenheim, where Dortmund came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 after Silva came off the bench, scored with his first shot and sparked the turnaround.

A week later against Paderborn, he got the chance to start alongside Guirassy and set BVB on their way to a 3-0 win with the opener in the fifth minute. BVB have won all four matches and sit top of the Bundesliga. Silva has played his part in that excellent start and, surprisingly, the striker is with his performances one of the winners of BVB's strong start to the season.

Real Betis were after Fabio Silva

Still, there were strong rumours only two months ago that Fabio Silva could leave Dortmund again after just one year. Real Betis had approached BVB, according to reports in August, including from the Bild newspaper, and wanted to sign the forward.

Betis only wanted a loan deal with an obligation to buy if certain conditions were met. That structure apparently did not appeal to the Borussia hierarchy. The Black and Yellows likely wanted to recover the €22.5 million they paid Wolverhampton in summer 2025, and that demand caused the deal envisaged by the Andalusians to collapse.

How open Fabio Silva himself was to a move remains unclear. What is certain is that he is still under contract at BVB until 2030 and wants to keep taking his chances, whether at club level or with the national team. "I am here to improve myself, because I believe I can learn a lot here," Silva said with the Seleccao. Even if his great role model is no longer there now.

That could now give Fabio Silva a decisive push with Portugal too, after taking the next step at BVB.