Signing for Manchester City before the transfer market exploded, Bernardo Silva was seen as a relative bargain when it was announced he’d be teaming up with Pep Guardiola.
Coming off the back of a great season with Monaco, the Portuguese playmaker was widely seen as one of the more exciting prospects on the market, and while many thought he might team up with his compatriot José Mourinho at Manchester United, he chose to join the blue side of the city.
Since then, it’s been a mixture of ups and downs for the 23-year-old.
Ups because it’s clear Guardiola believes in him, yet downs as he hasn’t played anywhere near as much as people expected him to due to the competition provided by the likes of David Silva or Kevin de Bruyne.
However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t happy, as he explained in an interview with SFR Sport in France.
He said: “I’ve always said that when everything goes well at a club like City, you know there’s going to be competition. There’s fantastic players. If I want to play in midfield, there’s De Bruyne, Gundogan, David Silva.
“If you want to play wide, there’s Sané, Sterling, Gabriel Jesus. If you don’t want that competition, you don’t go to a big club. You stay where you know you’ll play, but I wanted to try something new. I like this challenge. I’m happy, even if I don’t play all the time, but I’ve started 20 games this season. It’s not that bad.”
The player also admitted that he needs to improve on his right foot, which he sees as the main weakness in his game, even if he ‘doesn’t like doing it’.
An honest interview from a very likeable player.
