Bernardo Silva: the ‘bubble gum player’ bringing his magic to Manchester City

Picture a professional footballer at one of the best clubs in Europe this season. Think about his exorbitant wages in a part of the world where he does not even pay taxes. Think about Monaco, the lifestyle, the casino, the sophistication, the wealth. Now think about Bernardo Silva and rethink everything.

The Portuguese playmaker is the antithesis of the average elite-level player. The cliches simply do not apply to him. In Monaco he lived in a tiny one-bedroom flat with a small kitchen. He cleaned the dishes because he did not have a dishwasher and he hung out his smalls to dry on his modest balcony.

Of course, the sea view was impressive but with all the money he earned - pounds 30,000 a week - he could have splashed out on a huge house on the outskirts of the city with all mod cons and then some, but no. That is not Bernardo Silva. He does not do ostentation and extravagance. He does not get tattoos and fancy watches, Ferraris or private jets. He is different.

But, while Silva is just a regular guy, he is no regular player. At 22 - he will be 23 in August - Silva was the brains behind the Monaco side that took Ligue 1 and Europe by storm this season. He sees things before everybody else: the space, the pass, the run. He always plays on the move. His movement off the ball is sensational. There cannot be a more intelligent player than him and that is why Pep Guardiola made Silva his first summer signing. Guardiola loves a smart player.

Silva also knows when to slow down play and when to accelerate it - not so much quick-on-the-ball but quick-thinking. Of all his attributes, however, the most impressive of them is his control of the ball. “Bernardo Silva? I call him bubble gum because the ball is glued to his foot. I could pay to watch him play,” said Benjamin Mendy, the Monaco left-back after their team won the league this month for the first time in 17 years.

Another team-mate, Jemerson, the centre-back, says Silva is magic and not of this world. “At training and during matches he does incredible things. You think he is about to lose the ball but no, it is still there between his feet. You don’t even know how he did it. He is a magician although I call him the elf because of the weird shape of his ears,” said the former Atletico Mineiro player, laughing.

Silva is also a gentleman on the pitch. He never moans or sulks and is always fair. Complaining, brawling or losing is not part of his education but thinking quickly has always been. “He always knew that he could never win the physical battle because he was always the smallest and lightest so he always wondered how to avoid the challenges,” says Pepa, his former manager at the Benfica under-17 team. “That’s why today he is always two or three steps ahead when he receives the ball.”

The similarities with a certain David Silva, already at City of course, are quite obvious. That’s why Bernardo’s move to City makes so much sense. He is the heir to David, the one who will replace him. Same talent, same profile, same style, same left foot, same qualities, same height even (1.73m). For Guardiola he is the perfect player. He is versatile. He can play behind the striker or wide, a bit deeper or even in a box-to-box role - like David again.

Three years after Bernardo Silva arrived in Monaco for euros 15m (pounds 12.1m) from Benfica, where he was not even training with the first team, he is already leaving. Monaco could not say no to the huge offer made by City. In the three seasons in the principality, the Jorge Mendes protege has gone from strength to strength. He became a full Portuguese international, although he missed last summer’s European Championship through injury and has just had the best season of his career with eight goals and nine assists in Ligue 1.

He has developed into a special player worth every penny spent by Manchester City. He has become a big-game player as well. He scored against Villarreal in the Champions League qualifier, Tottenham in the group stages, a last-minute equaliser in Paris in the league which proved the turning point in the domestic season, another goal in Marseille, assists against Manchester City and Marseille again. “We could not take the ball away from him, it was incredible. I admire the player he is,” said Hugo Lloris after Spurs were beaten twice by Monaco in the Champions League. The Portuguese playmaker is ready to go on to something bigger: Ligue 1’s and Monaco’s loss is the Premier League’s and Manchester City’s gain.