Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s persistent disbelief jumped from the pages of his autobiography, his feelings towards Pep Guardiola – the “spineless coward” who coached him a frustrating year at Barcelona – abundantly.
“None of the guys acted like superstars, that was strange,” wrote the veteran striker, who rarely seems to act like anything else.
“[Lionel] Messi, Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, the whole gang – they were like schoolboys.
“The best footballers in the world stood with bowed heads and I didn’t understand anything. It was ridiculous.”
A couple of years ago I found some evidence backing Ibrahimovic’s claim that Guardiola has a lot of time devoted to players who are well behaved schoolboys.
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I was in Portugal to cover the first Nations League final and made the trip to Bernardo Silva’s old school in Lisbon, Colegio Valsassina.
Bernardo was the man of the moment, named City’s Player of the Season for his impressive contribution to the 2018/19 domestic triple.
Similarly, he was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA after Portugal won on home soil, despite Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick in the semifinals against Switzerland and a certain Ruben Dias as man of the match in the 1-0 Final victory over the Netherlands.
My visit to the Colegio Valsassina took place between those two games, which means that Ronaldo’s youngest top scorer was on everyone’s lips again.
The humanities scholar Maria da Luz repeatedly referred to Bernardo as a “friendly boy” throughout our conversation, while her colleague Liliana Moreira – a language coordinator who had worked at the school for more than four decades – could not resist a playful, mischievous comparison.
“He’s not like Ronaldo,” she said. “I like Ronaldo a lot, but he’s a show-off. Bernardo, no. It’s the same.”
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with Bernardo Silva. at the Nations League final
Moreira claimed not to follow football – although she was well aware of the gong used by Bernardo’s Player of the Season – but could easily make that distinction.
At the start of this decorated season, Guardiola said his team would be “Bernardo and 10 other players” after a “masterpiece” of performance in the Community Shield win over Chelsea. He hasn’t always maintained that level since then, but he’s such a Guardiola player. The versatile team man, the nice boy.
While Ronaldo’s skills, accomplishments and professionalism are beyond doubt, there is ample evidence that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is the absolute opposite. It made his planned move to Eastlands, where he would have been jammed in Guardiola’s well-engineered machine, terribly harrowing.
The Premier League champions are undoubtedly a striker light and it would be wise to bolster that area of the roster after Harry Kane was not pulled out of Tottenham.
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But a hasty, reactive move for a player who never seemed like a natural fit with the coach around whom the entire football business is built seemed very un-City. Ronaldo is a superstar, he is undoubtedly on Ibrahimovic’s side.
For all their differences as players and characters, Bernardo and Ronaldo share an agent. Jorge Mendes, demonstrating the prayers of United fans right now, is getting things done.
This is a big reason why Bernardo was seen as the first-team star most likely to break new ground in this window of time. Fortunately, the clock is ticking and the ex-Monaco man will probably have to be content with Manchester for another year. You don’t have to worry about your commitment, as a majestic performance in the 5-0 win against Norwich recently proved.
City fans were already queasy at the presentation of Ronaldo in sky blue. Identity and emotions compete for space alongside medals and hard numbers when evaluating such transfers.
At the same time, seeing Bernardo pass through the exit door – a player who fits perfectly with Guardiola’s vision, whose selfless engagement on the field has earned widespread admiration – would have been another hard one to swallow.
Fortunately, things are feeling a little more normal on Planet Pep after another afternoon of breathtaking developments.
How would you feel if Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester City and Bernardo Silva? Follow our new City Fan Brands writer, Dom Farrell, on Twitter to join the discussion and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
