Manchester City star Bernardo Silva has expressed his desire to return to his former club Benfica at some stage in his career but admitted the potential transfer is currently "totally impossible."

The midfield maestro claimed the fact that Man City are asking for "a lot of money" for him shuts down the possibility of a move to the Portuguese top flight.

Silva is an integral part of Pep Guardiola's team and has scored 61 goals in 329 games in all competitions since joining from French side AS Monaco in 2017.

The 87-cap Portugal international was a product of Benfica's youth academy, but he made just three senior appearances for the Primeira Liga giants before his 2015 transfer to Monaco.

The 29-year-old, who has won 13 major trophies at City, is a supporter of Benfica, who are the most decorated club in Portugal, having claimed 86 major honours.

In an interview with Portuguese outlet A Bola, Silva outlined his intention to return to his boyhood club, but recognised this is unlikely to happen in the short term.

"I've never hidden the fact that one day I want to return, so of course I do. Now, we'll see over time what's possible and there's no point in talking about it all the time, because people get tired of it. We'll see," he said.

"Yes, you talk more and more and it gets a bit repetitive. I realise that people get tired too. But since I get asked this question so often, I'm not going to lie. I always say: it's a reality that I want to return to and I hope that one day it can happen.

"They can, but there are contractual issues that have to be respected and you have to live with the reality that Portuguese football financially can't compete with English, Spanish or even German and French clubs.

"For example, even if I wanted to go to Benfica at the moment, it would be totally impossible because Manchester City are asking a lot of money for a transfer for me.

"In the last four or five years I've been a player valued at over EUR50m and it's impossible for a Portuguese club to pay that kind of money. People have to be a bit realistic."

The world-class midfielder agreed that joining Benfica would only be possible at the end of his contract at the Etihad Stadium.

"It would have to be. I think so, of course," Silva added.

Silva assisted the first goal and scored the third in City's 3-1 Premier League win over Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday night as last season's treble winners climbed to fourth place.