In 2020–21, he helped Manchester City reach their first UEFA Champions League final, and was an integral part of the side who sealed a first-ever continental treble in 2022–23.

Silva made his senior debut for Portugal in 2015 after previously being capped by the nations's youth teams at under-19 and under-21 levels.

[23][24] The calibre of his performances against Manchester City for Monaco in the UEFA Champions League knockout legs in the 2016–17 season was noted by head coach Pep Guardiola and his backroom staff.

[27] On 13 February 2018, Silva scored his first Champions League goal for the City in a 4–0 away victory against Basel in the first leg of the round of 16 stage.

[34] Silva's consistent and influential performances helped his team to win Premier League title, filling in Kevin De Bruyne's position who missed the majority of the season with an injury.

[41] On 10 January 2021, Silva scored a brace in a 3–0 home win over Championship side Birmingham City in the Third round of the FA Cup.

[43] On 24 February 2021, Silva scored his first Champions League goal of the season in a 2–0 away win over Borussia Mönchengladbach in the first leg of the round of 16 tie.

[44] In the start of the 2021–22 season, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola revealed that Silva was one of three players that wanted to leave the club in the summer transfer window.

[45] After staying at the club in the transfer window, Silva began displaying impressive performances in the midfield for Manchester City, most notably in the 5–0 victory against Arsenal, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win over Leicester City, and against Liverpool and Chelsea, being named man of the match in the latter, with manager Pep Guardiola describing Silva as "one of the best players in the world".

[49] On 24 November, Silva became the first player in the Champions League to register a 100% passing rate, being named man of the match, as he provided an assist for Gabriel Jesus, in City's 2–1 home win against Paris Saint-Germain in a Champions League group stage match, to ensure his team qualification to the round of sixteen.

[63][64][65] On 31 March 2015, Silva made his senior debut for Portugal, starting in a 0–2 friendly defeat to Cape Verde in Estoril.

[66] On 27 June 2015, Silva scored Portugal U21s' first goal in a 5–0 win against Germany U21 in the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Championship in Czech Republic.

[69] The national team reached the semi-finals before losing out to Chile in a penalty shootout after a 0–0 draw at the end of regulation time.

[72] Silva was selected for three matches in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League group stage, scoring a goal and providing an assist in a 3–2 victory against Poland on October 11.

In the semi-finals on 5 June 2019, Silva provided two assists to Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a hat-trick resulting in a 3–1 over Switzerland to reach the final.

[81][82] Despite an underwelming World Cup tournament, his form improved under new manager Roberto Martínez, who used Silva as one of his pilar for his team.

He would finish the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers campaign with three goals and four assists, including captaining Portugal for the first time on 11 September 2023, in a 9–0 home defeat of Luxembourg in the same phase, their biggest win in international history.

[85] In Portugal's round of 16 match against Slovenia, he played the full 120 minutes and scored the team's third kick of the penalty shootout which they won 3–0.

[87] Silva is a diminutive, elegant, and creative left-footed playmaker, with a slender build, who is capable of playing in several attacking and midfield positions.

He is mainly known for his technique, acceleration, agility, passing, ball control, vision, creativity, and dribbling skills, as well as his energy and defensive work-rate, which enables him to cover ground, press opponents, and start attacks after winning back possession.

[88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96] Silva's English has been described as "perfect" by the media,[97][98] partly as a result of his parents sending him to an English-speaking school in Lisbon when he was six years old.