Bernardo Silva will play his last game for Manchester City against Aston Villa at the Etihad on Sunday
Bernardo Silva is ready to move closer to his family when he leaves Manchester City after a trophy-laden Etihad career.
The Blues captain is calling time on his City career and will bow out with a domestic cup double, with any chance of turning that into a Treble extinguished by the midweek draw at Bournemouth.
Silva has been an integral part of City’s success and will likely continue to play in a leading European league, with Barcelona and Juventus keen. Although the 31-year-old has ruled out a return to boyhood club Benfica, his family back in Lisbon have been factored into his thinking.
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“It’s a mix of things in terms of trophies, in terms of what I personally achieved here,” Bernardo said of leaving City. “It’s never enough, but I feel that we won a lot, our generation. I feel that also it’s time for these young guys to have their moment.
“And for me personally, it’s an opportunity to go a bit closer to my family. It’s been quite a long time. 12 years that I’ve been apart and quite far away, and I want to be a bit closer to them.
“And, I want a new challenge. Even though I love the football club and I loved the nine years here, I feel it’s the right moment for me to have a new challenge in my life. It’s going to be good.”
The City skipper is set to be followed out of the door by Guardiola, who will depart after a decade in charge. The City boss has spoken about how Bernardo is ‘his weakness’ and has gone out of his way to praise the Portugal international during their time together in Manchester.
The respect between the pair is huge, with Bernardo speaking about how he was influenced by Guardiola’s Barcelona team when coming through the ranks at Benfica because of the way they played and how some of the most talented players in the side were small in stature, giving hope to a then-teenage prospect trying to make it in the professional game.
“Way before I joined Man City, Pep for me was always an inspiration because when he was training Barcelona, that team with the small guys, with Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, [Lionel] Messi, Pedro,” he said.
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“I was at the time in Benfica in my academy years where I didn’t play because they thought that I wasn’t big enough, that I wasn’t strong enough. And me looking at that team and thinking, these guys, they’re also not big, they’re also not strong. If they can do it, maybe one day I can do it.
“So, Pep’s team was always an inspiration for me. And then to join the club and to be able to be with him nine years and to be a part of this success, it’s fantastic. Fifteen years ago, when I was in that situation, that bad situation where I didn’t play at Benfica because the people there didn’t believe in me because of my size and looking at his teams, and now being the player that has the most games on the team, it truly is special.”
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