‘What the f**k?!’: Man City star who ‘astounded’ Guardiola

Pep Guardiola was ‘astounded’ by Bernardo Silva‘s excursions for Manchester City in pre-season.

Silva was one of City’s most important players as they secured an unprecedented domestic Treble.

Guardiola has previously stated that he will never sell Bernardo, having signed him from Monaco for around £43m in summer 2017.

The Portuguese struggled to establish himself in his first season in England, scoring nine goals and assisting 11 in 53 appearances.

But he has been one of the players of the season with 13 goals and assists apiece in 51 games, and left Guardiola in awe of his “masterpiece” in the Community Shield.

The Times say that he impressed the manager even earlier, with Paul Hirst shedding a light on how impressive he was in pre-season:

‘Ask Guardiola and his staff who their player of the season is and almost all of them come back with the same answer: Bernardo Silva.

‘Guardiola has always known about Silva’s potential. That is why he urged Begiristain to pay Monaco £43.5 million for the Portugal forward in the summer of 2017. But at times last season it felt to Guardiola’s staff that Silva was just happy to be on the pitch. He would often just look to get the ball to David Silva and De Bruyne as quickly as possible and let them work their magic.

‘This season, there has been more of a swagger about Bernardo’s displays. He wants the ball more and is not afraid to try to win matches himself, by setting up goals or scoring them.

‘Guardiola noticed this on City’s pre-season tour to the United States. Forty-eight hours after landing in Miami, Silva asked to play in City’s friendly against Bayern Munich. There was no sign of jet lag from the 24-year-old as he scored two goals and set up Lukas Nmecha for the other as City came from 2-0 down to win.

‘Guardiola was astounded. He turned to his coaches, his eyes bulging out of his head and proclaimed: “What the f**k?!” It was then that Guardiola realised that Bernardo would play a key part in the season.

‘Bernardo is a popular member of the dressing room too because he is polite, funny and speaks four languages – Portuguese, English, Spanish and French – thus allowing him to interact with all the players and staff members. He takes an active interest in everyone who plays for or is associated with the squad.’