Bernardo Silva makes transfer decision as Pep Guardiola overrules Man City stars

Bernardo Silva has revealed he has already decided his next move as he heads into the final year of his Manchester City contract. The 30-year-old Portugal international will captain Man City at the Club World Cup after Pep Guardiola announced a change in policy. Silva turned down interest from elsewhere to remain at City for the yearGetty Guardiola usually lets his players and staff vote on who should be captain, but has now stepped in to confirm his leadership group. The Spaniard has overruled regular policy to give the armband to Silva, ahead of vice-captains Rúben Dias, Rodri and Erling Haaland. Kyle Walker was made club captain a year ago, but his future appears to be away from the Etihad, having left to join Milan on loan in January before being left out of City’s squad for the Club World Cup. Silva is currently set to leave City next summer as a free agent and has been linked with a return to boyhood club Benfica as well as with a switch to Al-Hilal and Galatasaray. He has made 404 appearances for City and scored 72 goals since joining from Monaco in 2015, winning 14 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and the 2023 Champions League. New City captain Silva has ruled out a summer 2025 exit, but admits he is thinking about life after Manchester City. “Yeah, I have one year on my contract, so obviously I could leave next season,” he said. “I know what I’m going to do, but it’s not the time to talk about that. “I’m very focused on my season. I’m very focused on performing well for Man City. When the time is due, I will talk about it. “This season I will for sure be with Man City. I’m going to stay. I’ve had options in the past and this year, like last year, my [choice] is to stay at Man City.” Silva could follow the same path as Kevin De Bruyne and see his contract run down before departing. Guardiola has chosen Haaland, Dias and Rodri as Silva’s vice-captains De Bruyne was not offered a renewal and has now joined Napoli on a free transfer after 422 games, 102 goals and 177 assists for City. There was the option for the Belgian midfielder to agree a short-term extension and play for City at the Club World Cup before departing, but all parties decided it was better to say goodbye at the end of the Premier League season. “Regarding Kevin, you guys know how special he is for all of us still,” added Silva. “As friends and teammates, we wanted him to stay longer, but that’s life. We wish him all the best at Napoli. “We’re happy for him. I know that not only him, but also his family, were really happy with the way that he said goodbye to the city and to the club. “He had some very beautiful moments in the last few weeks of the season, and we tried to make it as special as we could for him.” De Bruyne has been replaced by Rayan Cherki, even though the French playmaker prefers not to be compared as an identical No.10 profile, telling talkSPORT his predecessor is a ‘legend’. Cherki will make his City debut at the Club World CupGetty However, ahead of City’s Club World Cup opener against Wydad in Philadelphia, live on talkSPORT 2, Silva singled out 21-year-old Cherki, who has caught the eye in training since joining from Lyon for €40million (£34m). “Cherki is a is a special character in terms of his attitude,” said Silva. “He tries things that other players wouldn’t dare to. “We need a bit of extra quality in the final third and that little bit of magic and those special moments he brings that to the squad.” Whereas Chelsea view the Club World Cup as the finale to a long season, and are hoping to cap it off with another trophy after lifting the Europa Conference League, Guardiola has told his players that his side’s opening Club World Cup match against Moroccan fixture Wydad is game one of 2025/26. Guardiola stressed ahead of the game that City don’t view the Club World Cup as a means to salvage last season. Instead, they want to use the tournament to simply look forward, with Silva echoing these comments. Silva says Manchester City will respect their competition in the USAAFP “This is a very important competition for us,” he said. “We want to win the trophy. We’re just looking at it as already the new season, but teams [like Chelsea] can look whichever way they prefer. “The manager wants us to feel like this is already the new season and the beginning of something important. We’re trying to create that type of atmosphere, and this is a great competition for that. “We talked a lot as a group about what happened last season, and we learned a lot of very important lessons. We’re not going to forget what happened last season, and we’ll try to make things right. “It’s a very competitive squad, a very competitive dressing room, and we don’t accept defeat easily. “What happened last season, we don’t accept it, and we want to turn things around as quickly as possible, and get back to go and win trophies.

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Bernardo Silva makes transfer decision as Pep Guardiola overrules Man City stars

Bernardo Silva has revealed he has already decided his next move as he heads into the final year of his Manchester City contract.

The 30-year-old Portugal international will captain Man City at the Club World Cup after Pep Guardiola announced a change in policy.

Silva turned down interest from elsewhere to remain at City for the year

Guardiola usually lets his players and staff vote on who should be captain, but has now stepped in to confirm his leadership group.

The Spaniard has overruled regular policy to give the armband to Silva, ahead of vice-captains Rúben Dias, Rodri and Erling Haaland.

Kyle Walker was made club captain a year ago, but his future appears to be away from the Etihad, having left to join Milan on loan in January before being left out of City’s squad for the Club World Cup.

Silva is currently set to leave City next summer as a free agent and has been linked with a return to boyhood club Benfica as well as with a switch to Al-Hilal and Galatasaray.

He has made 404 appearances for City and scored 72 goals since joining from Monaco in 2015, winning 14 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and the 2023 Champions League.

New City captain Silva has ruled out a summer 2025 exit, but admits he is thinking about life after Manchester City.

“Yeah, I have one year on my contract, so obviously I could leave next season,” he said. “I know what I’m going to do, but it’s not the time to talk about that.

“I’m very focused on my season. I’m very focused on performing well for Man City. When the time is due, I will talk about it.

“This season I will for sure be with Man City. I’m going to stay. I’ve had options in the past and this year, like last year, my [choice] is to stay at Man City.”

Silva could follow the same path as Kevin De Bruyne and see his contract run down before departing.

Guardiola has chosen Haaland, Dias and Rodri as Silva’s vice-captains

De Bruyne was not offered a renewal and has now joined Napoli on a free transfer after 422 games, 102 goals and 177 assists for City.

There was the option for the Belgian midfielder to agree a short-term extension and play for City at the Club World Cup before departing, but all parties decided it was better to say goodbye at the end of the Premier League season.

“Regarding Kevin, you guys know how special he is for all of us still,” added Silva. “As friends and teammates, we wanted him to stay longer, but that’s life. We wish him all the best at Napoli.

“We’re happy for him. I know that not only him, but also his family, were really happy with the way that he said goodbye to the city and to the club.

“He had some very beautiful moments in the last few weeks of the season, and we tried to make it as special as we could for him.”

De Bruyne has been replaced by Rayan Cherki, even though the French playmaker prefers not to be compared as an identical No.10 profile, telling talkSPORT his predecessor is a ‘legend’.

Cherki will make his City debut at the Club World Cup

However, ahead of City’s Club World Cup opener against Wydad in Philadelphia, live on talkSPORT 2, Silva singled out 21-year-old Cherki, who has caught the eye in training since joining from Lyon for €40million (£34m).

“Cherki is a is a special character in terms of his attitude,” said Silva. “He tries things that other players wouldn’t dare to.

“We need a bit of extra quality in the final third and that little bit of magic and those special moments he brings that to the squad.”

Whereas Chelsea view the Club World Cup as the finale to a long season, and are hoping to cap it off with another trophy after lifting the Europa Conference League, Guardiola has told his players that his side’s opening Club World Cup match against Moroccan fixture Wydad is game one of 2025/26.

Guardiola stressed ahead of the game that City don’t view the Club World Cup as a means to salvage last season.

Instead, they want to use the tournament to simply look forward, with Silva echoing these comments.

Silva says Manchester City will respect their competition in the USA

“This is a very important competition for us,” he said. “We want to win the trophy. We’re just looking at it as already the new season, but teams [like Chelsea] can look whichever way they prefer.

“The manager wants us to feel like this is already the new season and the beginning of something important. We’re trying to create that type of atmosphere, and this is a great competition for that.

“We talked a lot as a group about what happened last season, and we learned a lot of very important lessons. We’re not going to forget what happened last season, and we’ll try to make things right.

“It’s a very competitive squad, a very competitive dressing room, and we don’t accept defeat easily.

“What happened last season, we don’t accept it, and we want to turn things around as quickly as possible, and get back to go and win trophies.

“ We have a very good opportunity to win an important thing here. It is something new, and I think it will be very beautiful to try and be the first team to win this Club World Cup.”

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