BErnaldo Silva will leave Manchester City at the end of this season. The 31-year-old Portugal star is in his ninth and final season as an English champion, making 449 appearances, scoring 42 goals and providing 34 assists. It marks the end of the player’s successful run in the Premier League under manager Josep Guardiola, with his departure further confirmed in the club’s media (though the club have yet to officially announce his departure).
Contrast between Portugal and England: “Culturally, Portuguese and English are completely different. The weather, the food, the way of life are a little different. I always joke that if Manchester were further south in Europe, I would stay until they kick me out, because I really love the football club, my teammates, the staff, the fans, the stadium, the atmosphere, everything about my professional life!”
Cultural factors: “Then the other side of my life is different, because I’m not saying I don’t like it, but culturally it’s completely different from what I would ideally like. So sometimes you don’t feel as happy as you would like.” Before we met, I spent some time alone in Manchester when I didn’t feel very good about myself. I certainly thought a lot about quitting, not because I don’t like my favorite football club, but because of the other side of my life. ”
he has no regrets. “In the end, it didn’t happen. I’m so glad it didn’t happen! Because I probably would have missed out on the opportunity to live the memories of the treble and the fourth in a row, to be captain, to be part of the leadership group, to pass on my experience to the younger players and try to get the club back to where it should be. But if Manchester City were in Lisbon, I would have stayed until I was 40…”
If Manchester were further south in Europe, I’d stay here until I’m 40.
Fan support in the early days: “At first we said we were thinking about leaving at some point in our career. It was even reported in the press…but the fan reaction was always amazing and unbelievable! We wouldn’t have thought of it anywhere else. They always respected me as a player and as a person, welcomed me with open arms, respected me and helped me. That was probably one of the main reasons I stayed at this club for so long!
Generational change: “I see the same ambition to succeed in the new players. Now they know the standards of this club, the level required, the standards that we have set over the last eight or nine years. That has made them aim even harder and say, ‘Look, we can achieve that too.’
He could have left, he could have been reported in the press…but the reaction from the fans was good, he might have been booed somewhere else.
Club ambitions: “This club has shown in recent years that if you want to be part of it, you have to be a winner. The guys that have come in in the last two or three years are really good. They can take this club to exactly where they are, where they can compete for titles every season.”
