 Silva received the Ligue 1 Player of the Month award for March, with 71% of the vote, after several fantastic performances.This was followed by a unanimously-exalted performance against Barcelona, where Silva was described as "a wall" by French and Catalan media.Carlo Ancelotti claimed after the match that Silva was the best defender in the world, saying that Silva had all the ability to win the Ballon d'Or.