Bernardo Silva drops Barcelona hint with emotional Man City goodbye
FT Desk
- 13 Aug 2022 20:15 BST
- 3 min read
Bernardo Silva has given the strongest hint yet that he may be ready to leave Manchester City this summer.
The Portugal midfielder has been closely linked with a move to Barcelona, and started on the bench on Saturday as City looked to make it two Premier League wins in as many games at home to Bournemouth.
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It turned out to be a straightforward afternoon for Pep Guardiola's men who prevailed 4-0 in a one-sided encounter at the Etihad Stadium.
Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden were all on target, while Jefferson Lerma compounded his side's misery by putting a goal past his own goalkeeper with just over 10 minutes left to play.
Bernardo had made it onto the pitch by that point, playing the final half-hour after coming on for Gundogan with City already leading by three.
Bernardo's City farewell?
But it was his reaction after the final whistle that gave most pause for thought.
At the end of the game as his team-mates filed off the Etihad turf Bernardo made a point of ambling over to all of the stadium's four sides, applauding the fans located in each stand.
Bernardo claps all four stands, then goes to give his shirt to a fan. Last off the pitch. #mcfc pic.twitter.com/Bg0uezEaMA
— Joe Bray (@_joebray) August 13, 2022
He was greeted in turn with a rousing ovation as he walked off following a gesture that suggested he may have played his final home game for City.
Guardiola, however, has expressed his hopes of retaining the midfielder's services.
“I want Bernardo at Man City, 100 percent,” Pep told reporters earlier this week.
“He’s special. I don’t know what will happen, but he knows how much we like him and want him, how much we love him. But I don’t know what is going to happen…”
