Pep Guardiola in awe of former Benfica star: he deserves top acclaim | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has long been an unconditional admirer of Bernardo Silva. At a time when the Portuguese international has already confirmed that he will leave Manchester City, the Catalan coach once again lavished praise on the former Benfica player and left a message of thanks to the number 20.

"If I say too much, I’ll cry. All I can say is: 'Thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of this club, for what you have done'", Pep Guardiola began by saying, in the aftermath of the win over Arsenal, where Manchester City moved closer to reaching the top of the Premier League.

"Bernardo proved that football starts here [in the brain] and goes to the feet. And this guy is not the fastest or the most agile, but he knows exactly, at every moment, what each action requires. He never got injured, always committed", added the Manchester City manager, praising the former Benfica footballer.

"Last season defined Bernardo for me; when everyone was absent, he was always there, suffering first. His mentality. And he has something that is important: he always sees the positive side of life. That is why his life will be so happy with his wife Inês and the children, he will be so happy because he is always positive", he added.

"He deserves the highest recognition. When you write ‘legend’, it has to be in capital letters, because that is what he has been. In every game, over nine years! He is a very, very special player. All I can say is that, wherever he goes, the team will be very lucky to have him!", Pep Guardiola concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.