The focus won’t be on Bernardo Silva as he bids farewell to Manchester City on Sunday. Indeed, the majority of the spotlight will fall on Pep Guardiola as the legendary manager brings down the curtain on 10 years at the Etihad Stadium. The Etihad Stadium will be a very different place without Guardiola.
As a player, though, Silva will be almost as impossible for Manchester City to replace. The Portuguese international has been a key member of the City team since 2017 when he arrived from Monaco. Silva has been the ultimate cohesion player for Guardiola and he will be desperately missed.
In terms of his position, it can sometimes be difficult to nail down Bernardo’s exact role. This season, Manchester City has used the 31-year-old as part of the midfield double pivot alongside Rodri. From there, Silva is afforded the freedom to drift out to the wide areas and into pockets of space where he can influence attacking play.
Over the time of his Manchester City career, Silva has operated as a winger, a central midfield and a number 10. His natural skillset in possession lends itself to a number of positions and roles, highlighting his importance to City as the glue that holds together so many different parts of the team.
“Pep was a bit upset with me initially,” said Silva when asked about his decision to leave City and how he told Guardiola. “We didn’t agree completely because I said, ‘Look, you know my decision. I’m going to leave in one year. Maybe it’s better for the club if you choose the guy that’s going to be a captain a bit more long-term.’
“We talked again. He decided to go through with it, and I was really honoured. I was just thinking that maybe for the club it was better if it was a guy that was going to stay for at least three, four, five more years.”
Of course, Guardiola made his own decision to depart Manchester City at the end of the season after Bernardo’s impending exit was announced. On and off the field, Sunday’s match against Aston Villa will mark the end of an era for the Etihad Stadium club. There will be a rebuild before the start of next season.
City has produced countless superstar players in the past. Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Yaya Toure … the Etihad Stadium has been home to icons before Guardiola and that will continue to be the case after him. In Silva, though, Manchester City is losing someone who embodies the most glittering period of success in the club’s entire history.