It’s been quite a 12 months for Rangers flop Fabio Silva.
This time last year the £35m Portuguese forward had fans expecting big things, as he stepped onto the pitch for just the second time in a Rangers shirt – on a mud bath of the pitch against League Two Dumbarton in front of just 2,000 fans. Fast forward 12 months and the 22-year-old Wolves man, who is now on loan at Las Palmas where he is a teammate of Scotland duo Oli McBurnie and Scott McKenna, silenced more than 70,000 inside the iconic Santiago Bernabeu – by giving the Gran Canaria side the lead in their clash with Real Madrid after just 25 seconds.
Straight from kick-off Las Palmas went on the attack, with Silva perfectly placed to stab a Sandro Ramirez cutback beyond Los Blancos keeper Thibaut Courtois. However the joy would be short lived, as Ramirez went from hero to villain – conceding a penalty which Kylian Mbappe converted, before goals from the Frenchman and Brahim Diaz had Carlo Ancelotti’s men 3-1 to the good at half-time.
Rangers fans on social media were left in shock, with one saying: “We need to have a serious conversation about the level of football in Spain,” and another added: “Found his level at a club that’s just happy to make the numbers up.” However a third backed him, saying: “I will die on the hill that although he was a proper odd bloke he was one of our better players in the second half of last season.”
The strike was Silva’s sixth in La Liga this season, and he’s making a habit of netting on the biggest stage too – having grabbed a winner against Barcelona at the Nou Camp earlier this season, which saw him branded the “revelation of the season” by a Premier Sports commentator.
However it hasn’t all been plain-sailing, and earlier this month he issues a grovelling apology to fans for a penalty miss in a defeat to Getafe, posting on social media: “I always assumed responsibilities, and I will always assume them. It’s part of me I want to apologise to the UD Las Palmas fans. I will continue working to improve and return all the trust you have placed in me.”
When he signed for Las Palmas, Silva took a dig at the standard of Scottish football, despite scoring just four times in 18 Scottish Premier matches, saying: “I was in Scotland last year and now I’m going to La Liga. I think I’ve succeeded. I’ve taken a step forward and I’m going to play against the best players in the world.”