Bernardo Silva was the star of the show as Manchester City defeated Real Madrid to win the Champions League final – justifying Pep Guardiola’s trust in the attacker.
Silva found space inside the area to blast City in front midway through the first half and doubled the lead eight minutes later with a deft, well-placed header. Both goals exemplified the 28-year-old’s supreme movement and calmness in front of goal. But Silva has been frequently linked with a move away from Etihad
The Portugal international has been on Barcelona ’s wanted list for over a year with boss Xavi Hernandez confirming they wanted a deal last summer, which did not come to fruition. Silva is also a transfer target for Paris Saint-Germain, who are looking to replace the outgoing Lionel Messi.
City have no shortage of attacking talent. Erling Haaland. Kevin De Bruyne. Jack Grealish. Riyad Mahrez. Phil Foden. Julian Alvarez. The potential combinations represents an embarrassment of attacking riches, yet Silva has proved to be a key player over the years and valued by Guardiola more than most.
The interest in the former Benfica and Monaco star, coupled with the suggestions that he would be open to a move away, but City and Guardiola held firm. It was a stance that was not deployed with multiple other first-team members at the club.
City's refusal to let Silva join Barcelona contradicts what Guardiola said after Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko joined Arsenal last summer. "When you don't want to stay and want to leave, you cannot stay," claimed the City boss – which was also the same approach adopted when Leroy Sane previously departed for Bayern Munich.
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Guardiola doubled down on this stance after Raheem Sterling was allowed to join Chelsea in the same transfer window: "If you force one person to stay when he doesn’t want to stay how can you get the best from him? It's impossible. I would love to stay all together but at the same time if a player wants to leave then we will find a solution."
In August, Guardiola said of Silva, in a stark change of tone: "I'm no one to tell Barca to forget about [signing] Bernardo. We want him to stay with us, but I don't want anyone who's not happy. The first thing would be for the clubs to come to an agreement, but there has been no offer for him in these last two years."
He added: "I don't want him to go, he's a superlative player and a great person... and there are only seven or eight days left [in the window] and we would have to turn to the transfer market. I want him to stay. That said, it is true Bernardo likes Barcelona a lot."
In January, Guardiola once again felt compelled to address the future of Silva. It was notable that once again he said it was up to the player, but made it clear of his own view: "He's a key player, so important on and off the pitch. A guy who can talk, always a nice conversation, always you learn about his humanity, his vision for the club. He's an incredible player against top sides, incredibly reliable in decisive games he's always there. Nothing changed about his future, it belongs to him."
Guardiola’s stance on Silva was notably different to his approach to Jesus, Zinchenko, Sterling, Sane and multiple others who have been allowed to leave City. His faith in the Portuguese star could now help seal the club’s first ever Champions League crown.
