Bernardo on his perfect year, Pep Guardiola, Seleção ambitions and Benfica return | OneFootball

Bernardo Silva took advantage of the recent international break to talk to the Portuguese media about several aspects of his career.

The Manchester City midfielder explained why the previous season was a perfect year on and off the pitch, his relationship with Pep Guardiola, and his desire to transpose his success at club level to the Seleção.

The former Benfica youth player also spoke about the unsatisfactory manner in which he left the Lisbon giants and his hopes for a return to his boyhood club, while also criticising one aspect of Portuguese football.

Perfect year

“Emotional stability is one of the most important things in a person’s life.

“This past year, at professional level, I won the Champions League and the English Premier League, and on a personal level we got married and we had our first daughter.

“I don’t think it’s possible to repeat or improve on a year like that.”

Guardiola

“Hearing Guardiola say the things he says about me is a source of pride, and I can say that even beyond football, I have a very special relationship with him.”

Seleção

“One of the things missing in my career is never having helped Portugal go further in a European Championship or a World Cup. We will certainly go to Euro 2024 with the intention of winning it. There’s a very big responsibility on this generation to have success.”

Departure from Benfica and possible return

“When I was a Benfica youth player they once said to me that ‘the son of a doctor won’t make it as a footballer’. I took it to heart and I did everything to prove them wrong.

“I was disappointed with how I left Benfica because I thought the club could have done more to keep me. This is not a criticism only of Luís Filipe Vieira [the president at the time], but also a group of four or five people who, if they understood football, would have looked at things differently.

“I want to return. If the club want me back, it will happen. Sporting or Porto? I would be incapable of playing for Porto or Sporting. Not gonna happen.”

Portuguese football

“I go to ground once and the referee doesn’t whistle. I go to ground a second time and the referee doesn’t whistle. The next time I’m not going to ground, right? In Portugal, players are always going to ground, because it’s rewarded. This habit of the referees whistling for every little contact is what makes our football boring.”

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