Some athletes will go to great lengths to help a former team-mate even after they part ways – but Bernardo Silva isn’t one of them.
The Manchester City star spent five years sharing a dressing room with Oleksandr Zinchenko, with whom he won four Premier League titles, four Carabao Cups and one FA Cup. However, Zinchenko has revealed just how their relationship changed after he jumped ship to join Premier League rivals Arsenal in 2022.
In an extract from Zinchenko’s new autobiography, Believe, he explained how he reached out to his former team-mate for advice during the summer. The Ukrainian was holidaying in southern France and contacted former Monaco midfielder Silva for tips on where to train in the area, but his old comrade was less than accommodating.
“I saw on Instagram that Bernardo Silva was there as well. I texted him, asking if he knew a pitch to do some exercises,” read the passage. “He wrote back saying, ‘for what, do you need a pitch?’
“‘I need to run,’ I replied. He wrote back, ‘run? For what? You’re going to try to win the Premier League again? Forget about it. Stay at home’.”
Zinchenko, 27, went on to say he later showed City star Jeremy Doku exactly what his team-mate had said. And the Belgian was left “laughing his head off” at just how cutthroat Silva was in his messages.
Many fans will perhaps not be surprised that serial winner Silva isn’t the kind to play nicely now that he and Zinchenko are technically enemies. The UEFA Nations League winner has clinched silverware wherever his career has taken him, being crowned league champion with Benfica and Monaco before excelling at the Etihad.
That ruthless streak was on display once more when Silva taunted the Gunners in the wake of their 2-2 draw against City in September. Pep Guardiola’s side snatched a share of the spoils in injury time after Arsenal – who have run City close in each of the last two Premier League seasons – played most of the match with 10 men.
When asked about the difference between City’s rivalry with Arsenal compared to that of Liverpool, Silva said: “The difference? Maybe that Liverpool have already won the Premier League, Arsenal haven’t. That Liverpool have won the Champions League, Arsenal haven’t.
