Bernardo Silva was an integral member of AS Monaco’s last title winning squad and after having enjoyed an impressive 2016/17 season with the Ligue 1 club, he arrived at Manchester City.
The Portugal international made only 15 league starts in his debut season in England and after adapting to the demands of the English football, he has been a regular in City’s starting lineup.
AS interviewed the Etihad star and asked him what was it like signing for the English champions.
He said, “Since I was a kid, I dreamed of playing in the best leagues and the Premier League is there.
“I dreamed about it and when I finished at Monaco winning the French league and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League and with the season so good that we did, I thought it was time to go out and try something new.”
“I chose my destiny very well because all the people in the club, the staff, the players and the fans have welcomed me very well and I am very good here.”
“Guardiola’s way of watching football is very different from all the coaches I had before. When I arrived, I had time to adapt, to understand everything I wanted and I learned a lot. The best decision of my life has been to come to the City to learn every day with Guardiola and with all my colleagues,” he stressed.
Silva came up through the ranks of Benfica’s youth system, but wasn’t given opportunities to shine with their first team. This convinced him to leave them and make a switch to AS Monaco.
The player stressed he became a ‘man’ with the Lisbon club and when asked if he wants to retire at Benfica, he said: “Yes. I never played in the first team and one day I want to.”
AS is a Spanish newspaper and they had to ask the attacking midfielder about City’s chances of overcoming Real Madrid in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Before the European competition was suspended due to the global health crisis, Guardiola’s side came from behind to seal a 2-1 win at Santiago Bernabéu.
Silva has issued a warning to his teammates not to give away their first leg advantage against Real Madrid.
“In my life, since I started playing football, I have never been three months without playing because, luckily, I have never had serious injuries. Being three months without playing for me is something new. I don’t even remember the last game we played and I really want to play again,” he stressed.
“Everything is open. When you play against a team like Madrid nothing is decided. We have seen many qualifying rounds changing in recent years. Look at Barça last year who beat Liverpool 3-0 and then lost 4-0. You never know.
“It is a good result and we have put ourselves in a good position to qualify for the quarters. It is a very difficult game that we have to play and we are still focused.
“No team can be written off, least of all Madrid, who have won 13 European cups. The players of Madrid have an experience in this competition that no one else has, so we can’t think that we’ve already won.”
