Bernardo Silva: I’m really happy I didn’t leave Manchester City before we won the treble | OneFootball

Manchester City skipper Bernardo Silva has dug deep into a chance to leave the club in the past and why he is glad an exit failed to materialise.

The 31-year-old is expected to leave the Blues when his contract expires at the end of the season, with no indication of active renewal talks between the Portugal international’s representatives and Manchester City officials.

City director of football Hugo Viana has conducted a comprehensive revamp of Pep Guardiola‘s squad since taking over from Txiki Begiristain last summer, making seven new signings ahead of the 2025-26 season before signing Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi in January.

However, with Silva’s heart seemingly set on an overdue exit from the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City have prioritised bolstering the midfield department in the summer amid interest in Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali.

Silva: The weather is very different in Portugal and England

The former AS Monaco man has been one of Guardiola’s most successful signings at Manchester City, winning six Premier League titles and the club’s maiden UEFA Champions League title amongst a plethora of silverware in England’s north-west.

“I have two sides of my life; I have the football side of my life, the professional side of my life, and then my life at home, where my wife and my daughter right now are really, really important to me,” Silva said in a recent appearance on the official Manchester City podcast.

“So, I definitely need a balance and to understand throughout my life, I always make decisions together with my wife, what was best for our family. Culturally, Portuguese and English are quite different; the weather is very different, the food is very different, the way of living is not very different but a bit different.

“I always joke and say that if Manchester City was located a bit more (in the) south of Europe, I would stay here until people kicked my ass out of the club! Because I truly love the football club, I love my teammates, I love the staff, I love the fans, I love the (Etihad) stadium, I love the atmosphere, I love everything about my professional life.”

I’m glad I didn’t leave Manchester City previously, adds Silva

Silva will have his pick of clubs if he decides to leave Manchester City on a free transfer at the end of the season, with the playmaker understood to be keen to return to Portugal amid interest from boyhood club Benfica.

“Then, the other side of my life, it’s different because I’m not saying that I don’t like, but culturally it’s not 100 percent what I would ideally want in my life,” the Manchester City captain added.

“So in some moments, especially you’re not feeling as happy as you want to be. Before I met my wife, I was alone in Manchester for a period of time where I didn’t feel that well with myself. And I definitely thought a lot about leaving, not because I didn’t like the football club – which I really love – but because of the other side of my life. And at the end, it didn’t happen.

“I’m really happy that it didn’t! I’m really happy because I would’ve probably lost the opportunity to live the memories of the treble, the four-in-a-row, even now, these memories, this opportunity of being a captain, being in the leadership group and passing all this experience on to the young guys – and trying to put the club back it deserves to be.”

Clubs in the MLS, Saudi Arabia and Europe will be lining up to offer Silva financially lucrative packages ahead of an increasingly likely exit from City in June. “But if Manchester City was in Lisbon, I would stay until I’m 40,” the Portuguese said.