“I started crying in the dressing room” – Every word Bernardo Silva said in Manchester City farewell speech | OneFootball

Bernardo Silva has delivered one of the most emotional farewells in Manchester City’s history after his final appearance for the club in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

The outgoing Manchester City captain addressed supporters on the pitch after the final whistle in what were among the most raw and heartfelt words heard from any player departing a football club in recent memory.

Silva leaves after 10 years and 20 major honours, with Barcelona understood to have an agreement in principle to sign him as a free agent this summer.

Sunday also served as the farewell for John Stones, manager Pep Guardiola as well as former City stars Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson – with the occasion becoming a celebration of everything this group of players and staff achieved together across a decade that transformed Manchester City into the most successful club in English football’s modern history.

Silva: I don’t think I will ever feel the same love ever in my life

Addressing supporters on the Etihad Stadium pitch after the final whistle, Silva was visibly overwhelmed.

“It’s really tough to put into words my feelings towards Man City, towards you guys because I don’t think I will ever feel the same love ever in my life,” he said.

“The love that I got from this football club, from you guys, I don’t very much I’ll get it again, so thank you so much! This is a family, it will forever be my family, and I’m really grateful!”

The conviction in the words that nothing in the rest of his career will replicate what he has felt at Manchester City is striking from a player who will go on to compete at the highest level for years to come.

It is consistent with what Silva has said throughout his farewell weeks at the Etihad Stadium, most notably when he said after Manchester City’s 1-0 FA Cup final win over Chelsea at Wembley that that since arriving he has accumulated 20 trophies – “so it’s not bad”.

I started crying a lot in the dressing room, admits Silva

Speaking to Sky Sports after City’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on the final day of the Premier League campaign, Silva pulled back the curtain on just how much the occasion had affected him before a ball had even been kicked.

“I didn’t sleep that well last night. I wasn’t really in very condition to play, I started crying a lot in the dressing room, which for a game isn’t very good,” the 31-year-old added.

“We couldn’t play our best game (against Aston Villa) but today was a celebration. I’m really happy for all the guys that came for Ederson, for Gundo (Gundogan), for Johnny boy (Stones), for me and for Pep.

“I’m just really proud that I was a part of this fantastic generation. This group of people that are just a family for me! The love that we got from these guys, me personally I doubt, I don’t think I will ever get it again.

“What we were part of was something truly special and this will forever be my family, my second home and I’m just really grateful that I was a part of it!

“It’s been a beautiful day for the football club, also with Pep and how much he means to this club. We’re trying to take it all in, but it’s not easy because it’s a lot.”

Silva: Pep is my father of football, the greatest manager ever

Silva then turned to Guardiola, the man who has shaped nearly a decade of the Portuguese’s professional career at club level, and delivered the most personal tribute of all.

The playmaker said: “Pep’s the reason we won so much; he was at the wheel, making the decisions, creating this monster of a team that was not only successful for one or two years, but successful for a very long time. That’s the most difficult thing.

“He never stopped creating new things, evolving, not allowing oppositions to adapt, and on a personal level he’s my father of football, and I’m really grateful for everything he did for me, and I do believe he’s the greatest manager ever.”

The description of Guardiola as “my father of football” is the most profound thing Silva has said publicly about their relationship, more revealing even than his interview after the FA Cup final, in which he described Guardiola as having “changed the way that I see football”.

Guardiola himself had warned he would cry if he spoke too much about Silva’s departure in April. On Sunday, for both of them, there were no words left: only tears and 10 years of memories that will last a lifetime.