{"id":131348,"date":"2026-05-16T13:31:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T16:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/bernardo-silva-on-manchester-city-rivals-and-hatred-plus-frances-scary-world-cup-squad\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T13:31:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T16:31:19","slug":"bernardo-silva-on-manchester-city-rivals-and-hatred-plus-frances-scary-world-cup-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/bernardo-silva-on-manchester-city-rivals-and-hatred-plus-frances-scary-world-cup-squad\/","title":{"rendered":"Bernardo Silva on Manchester City rivals and \u2018hatred\u2019. Plus: France\u2019s scary World Cup squad"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Athletic FC ⚽ is <\/span>The Athletic<\/span><\/i>\u2019s daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. <\/span>Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Hi! He\u2019s been one of the Premier League\u2019s most gifted playmakers, and it turns out Bernardo Silva has opinions as wide as his passing range. He\u2019ll be missed.<\/p>\n

Coming up:<\/p>\n

🗣️ Bernardo\u00a0interview<\/a><\/p>\n

🇫🇷 Can anyone stop<\/a> France?<\/p>\n

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL\u2019s English coach shortage<\/a><\/p>\n

👦 City\u2019s youth dominance<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Golden Silva: Man City star on being a bad loser and Arsenal learning to \u2018man up\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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At their very best, Pep Guardiola\u2019s Manchester City have moved the ball with a mesmeric, sometimes robotic, precision as their unique style transformed them into a Premier League-winning machine.<\/p>\n

But despite the system being the star, part of City\u2019s wider appeal has been Guardiola\u2019s signing of players who can also produce moments of undiluted brilliance.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this season it\u2019s been Rayan Cherki or Jeremy Doku, but the master of invention, the veteran of inspiration at the Etihad, is Bernardo Silva. The Portugal midfielder is preparing to draw a close to his trophy-laden spell in Manchester at the end of this season, and has sat down for a rare interview<\/a> with The Athletic\u2019s<\/em> Oliver Kay to reflect.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty to enjoy, including thoughts on his own technique and how he sees the game, but Bernardo is especially gripping on the nature of rivalry \u2014 City\u2019s clashes with Liverpool and, more recently, Arsenal; with the current title race still in play.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also, at 31, prepared to say what he thinks (it helps that he\u2019ll be leaving soon) and has not been shy (hello, Gunners) as he discusses his memorable spell through a series of photographs and what comes next.<\/p>\n

🗣️ On Arsenal: \u201cThey\u2019ve been growing and \u2026 well, it\u2019s a team that has been together for, what, five years now, so it\u2019s only natural that they would man up a little bit and start challenging for titles, so, yeah, let\u2019s see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

🗣️ On the title race: \u201cNo, I\u2019m not in love (with Arsenal). I do believe our main rivals (in his time at City) were Liverpool by far. I also believe \u2014 and I know this is very subjective \u2014 that if we were not in a transitional season and if we didn\u2019t make so many mistakes, we would have won this league.\u201d<\/p>\n

🗣️ On City\u2019s 2017-18 side who won the title with 100 points:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn future, I think people will look back and think that this (City) generation was \u2026 if not the best, then one of the best in the history of English football\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

🗣️ On the rivalry with Klopp\u2019s Liverpool:<\/p>\n

\u201cThey made us better. We made them better for sure. When you\u2019re living this kind of rivalry, you can\u2019t like each other. They have to hate us. We have to hate them. That\u2019s totally normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

🗣️ On Guardiola\u2019s genius:<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when we have a very successful season, he\u2019s always finding new ways so that teams can\u2019t adapt to us. In terms of offensive concepts, I would say he\u2019s by far the best manager I\u2019ve seen. I don\u2019t think there is anyone better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Easier\u2019 to play in EPL than France<\/h3>\n

Bernardo addresses the allegations that Manchester City breached Premier League financial regulations more than 100 times between 2009 and 2018. He hopes there\u2019s a swift resolution on that front (don\u2019t we all, Bernie?) but also suspects rivals have used the unproven breaches to undermine City\u2019s achievements.<\/p>\n

And while you would think that in a highly physical league, the 5ft 8in playmaker might struggle, he has a contrarian view, saying he found it \u201ceasier\u201d since joining from Monaco of France\u2019s Ligue 1 in 2017 because of the technical way City play.<\/p>\n

In fact, the only time he buttons up is when it comes to his next destination. Barcelona? Silva isn\u2019t giving any hints, but he does have a message for his agent if he wants to talk shop in the meantime.<\/p>\n