Bernardo sat down with CITY MAGAZINE to talk about leadership, longevity and the legacy he intends leaving behind one day…

To say Bernardo Silva wears his heart on his sleeve is an understatement.

Manchester City have been lucky to have some of the best players in the world over the past 15 years or so, with incredibly gifted and talented footballers and some wonderful leaders.

Bernardo is up there with the very best and there is every possibility that this, his ninth season with the Club, might just be his best.

He’s always given his all and has always been a leader, often by example, and now he deservedly leads the team out each week as our captain.

He moved into our all-time top 10 appearance charts a few weeks back and, by the time we go into April, he is likely to have moved past eighth-placed Mike Summerbee’s 451 starts for the Blues, too.

And the 17 trophies he’s won with City to date? He wants more – as many as he can lift, in fact.

Choosing the main captain of the squad has, in past seasons, been something Pep Guardiola has let his players choose, forging a captaincy group of five players. This season, the boss decided he wanted to pick the man who led his team – and that was a player he openly admits he has enjoyed working with perhaps more than any other – Bernardo, of course.

So what did it feel like when the boss informed him of his decision?

“Well, yeah, it was a huge honour to start with for Pep to think that I would be a good captain and to believe in me to lead the team,” said Bernardo with typical modesty.

“It's a massive honour, and a massive responsibility. And yeah, even though I think related to last season to the results not being the best and what we expected, we decided to go in a different way this time. And yeah, I'm happy. I'm happy to help the team to share all my experience to try and also be an example and try to set the standards for the youngsters – and not just me, but especially the guys that have been here for a long time to set a standards for the new guys and help them to understand what this club requires. But it's been nice.”

Influences can be taken from all walks of life when you are a leader.

Bernardo admits he has taken bits and pieces from the captains he has played under, as well as inputting his own ideas and personality.

“Giving everything every time I play, that's the way I played my whole career, and as a captain, that's the way that I saw my captains behave,” he said.

“When I arrived here at City, I saw the way  - for example – Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho were as leaders. You see how they behave on the pitch, and think ‘yeah, when one of the oldest guys and the captain does that’, so you as a young guy, you feel like you also have to do that, so I think that's a good example to set.

“I have played under many great captains, and their personalities are all completely different. Every person is different. But for sure you take lessons and you learn a lot. I learned a lot from all the guys that were my captains in the past. even apart from the ones I’ve had at City such as Radamel Falcao at Monaco - he was a great captain, and  with Cristiano [Ronaldo] in the national team.

“And also  with the guys that haven't been the first captain, for example, Ruben [Dias] is  a proper leader. I learned a lot from Ruben, for example, and I still do. And I loved playing with Fernandinho. If I had to choose not the best players, but the guys that I really enjoyed playing alongside, Fernandinho would be high on my list.

“So those are great examples of people that inspire you and you try to take a little bits from here and there, obviously not changing your own personality and your way of being, but it helps you.”

It’s amazing to think that Bernardo has spent almost a third of his life in Manchester and he admits that, even when he no longer lives in the city in years to come, he will always feel the DNA of Manchester in his blood. Presently, he lives the dreams of thousands of City fans by leading the team out each week – so how does that responsibility feel?

“Yeah, for someone that is not from Manchester, but stayed here now for nine years - and also now feeling a little bit Mancunian – it makes me very proud,” he smiled.

“The day I eventually leave, I can assure you I will always support this club. I feel that I became a part of this club and also a fan of this football club, not just a player. So after these many years to be able to wear the armband it's obviously a massive honour.

“I’ve spent, years and years of my life here, haven't I? Nine years, and this is the place where I started the relationship with my wife, this is the place where I had my first daughter, so it became a massive part of my life, and I think that even when I'm like 60 years-old or something like that, I will always remember this city as a massive, massive, happy period of my life - and not just my life, but my wife's life, my daughter's life. She was born in Portugal, but when she was one month old, she came to Manchester. She’s growing up here.”

Listen to any Pep Guardiola press conference and you will hear what he thinks of Bernardo. After our epic 2-1 win at Anfield, the boss said: “At the end we were guided by our incredible player, one of the best ever to play or train - our captain Bernardo. We follow him, I follow him too. He puts the team in front of himself. He does things through his own example. Everybody follows him, me the first.”

Does such lavish praise find its way to Bernardo’s ears? He smiles and says it does.

“It's a huge honour for a manager like Pep - probably the best ever – to say the things he does because when you hear that from him, it makes you realise that he really enjoys working with you, so it's a huge privilege,” he said.

It’s not hard to fathom why Pep wanted Bernardo to lead a new, exciting City team that is being put together. But what makes a good captain on and off the pitch? Our much-loved Portuguese attempts to explain: “I think in football, you have a mix of two things. One is the intuition of that comes from the streets, when you're a kid, and how you played back then. It's because at the end, football will always be about feeling about emotions, about intuition, about these kind of things.

“And then there's the part of and understanding the game and trying to learn. And I think the part of being competitive, the part of intuition, the part of loving the game, of passion. It's always been there for me, and then when I joined City, and when I joined Pep, even though that I felt like I was already a player that understood really well the game, it took me to another level.

“In this football club, you're not allowed to be a football star. You're allowed to be a part of a fantastic team, where everyone feels the same."

“And not only in my position specific, but all over the pitch, that's because I love the game, so I love to understand, like, if I needed to play centre-half, I would probably know what to do my because even if my physical qualities aren’t there [to play centre-half], I know what to do in every position on the pitch. I'm curious about the game. I'm always asking Ruben about, like, as a centre back how he approaches some moments of the game, some details, the positioning  and this kind of stuff. So I love that and I think Pep is the same because he also loves that too, and that’s something that we have in common.”

The sound of Bernardo’s name echoing around the Etihad has been a regular matchday occurrence over the years.

But whisper it and, there is a growing belief that this might be his best season yet. We grew used to his spectacular goals, wonderful assists (78 and counting ahead of our game at Leeds United) and frankly ridiculously good technique and control. But, more than ever, his non-stop effort and work rate is perhaps resulting in an even greater appreciation of a player who has already guaranteed himself the title of a Manchester City legend.

Is that something he feels?

“I always felt that [love], obviously, when you win, and it it's a bit more than when you don't win,” he said. “People get frustrated a little bit. That's part of the game. Football is a passionate, passionate game. But I would say that the love that I felt from day one, that people always understood and understood me, the way that I wanted to be understood, so I never wanted to be the star. I always wanted just to be another one in the team.

“And in this football club, you're not allowed to be a football star. You're allowed to be a part of a fantastic team, where everyone feels the same, and the fans also, they feel that way. So I remember even on my second third season, I always felt that the crowd really, really, really loved me, and so I have no complaints about that. They've been really good with me.”

And is winning a trophy with the skipper’s armband on now his burning ambition, having watched so many of the players he admired do the same for City?

“For sure,” he smiled. “The hunger is still here, even though we were really successful in the past. The challenge of having all of these young guys coming in and trying to put the club back where it deserves to be. and putting these young guys ready to fight for this club, for the next five, six years, like we did our generation in the past.

“That's a massive challenge, and I would love to do that successfully, you know? I would love to be gone one day, to look back and to see that when I left the club, I left it at a time where it was in a very good place and could still fight for all the top honours. That's my goal.”

Interview: David Clayton

Vivianne Miedema has enjoyed yet another fruitful season so far in City blue, featuring in all our league games for February it’s a no brainer that the forward is one of the first names on Andrée Jeglertz’s team sheet.

Viv kicked off her goalscoring account last month against Chelsea to round of a superb 5-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Miedema flicked home Kerstin Casparij’s corner at the near post to restore our four-goal lead in front of the City fans as we recorded our 13th WSL win in a row moving 12 points clear of the reigning WSL champions and 11 ahead of second-placed Manchester United.

The Dutch international’s reputation as one of the WSL’s most dangerous attackers precedes itself, but our number 10 was truly at her best under the Joie lights against Leicester.

Viv was a constant menace to the Foxes and could have even added a third or fourth goal to her tally if it wasn’t for the woodwork and Leicester’s defensive efforts.

The WSL’s record goalscorer is rapidly approaching 100 in the topflight and is now only behind Bunny Shaw in the rankings for the 2025/26 season.

And while you’re catching your breath reading just how impressive the last four weeks have been for our number 10, she spoke to City Magazine about how she’s assessed the season so far.

"We’re very confident, we know what we want and what our goal is."

“Yeah, obviously it’s been very different,” Miedema said.

“Coming back in the summer, we needed a bit of time to get used to the new playing style, new players coming in and I think from there on we picked up really nicely. 

“We’re very confident, we know what we want and what our goal is and I think regardless of what happens along the way we always seem to bounce back and be ready for the next game.

“That’s probably one of the reasons why we’ve been doing well, the season’s still quite long, we’re nowhere there yet and hopefully we can get there at some point.”

February also saw City suffer our first defeat since September in a 1-0 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

But as the team always say, ‘we take one game at a time’ and there was no doubt they would soon bounce back with convincing, almost dominating victories over Leicester and Sheffield United.

This is something the team has struggled with in previous seasons and Miedema explained how this has evolved and changed since Jeglertz was appointed.

“I mean obviously last season was really tough with the injuries we had and Gareth leaving, Nick coming in, it was a lot for us to handle on and off the pitch.

“But this season, we’ve used it as a reset.  We’ve always been able to go back to the basics this season.

“We have so many different types of leaders on the pitch as well which has really helped.

“And even the times where maybe we couldn’t finish the game off with the same 11 players, the girls have come in and done absolutely amazing.

“We have an amazing squad and I’m really happy that we’ve been able to use all of us as well.”

Speaking after the Arsenal defeat Jeglertz was almost certain City would bounce back, which as they did in a convincing manner really shows the mental resilience this side have this season, with Miedema touching on the importance of this but also keeping grounded.

“I think it’s really important but like you say the noises are from outside, not within,” she added.

“The week before, we were the best team in the league and everything was finished, the week after it’s not.

“The one thing we’ve done really well is just focusing on the next game. 

“Even after the Arsenal loss, the first thing we said was ‘you know what, we weren’t top today’, which is also kind of crazy because we’ve only lost 1-0 to Arsenal.

“We just need to be confident and keep doing what we’ve been doing. 

“Going out to beat Leicester and also as the last league game for a while, it’s been really important for us to do.

“It leads us pretty nicely into the final six games of the season.”

Andrée joined the club as head coach ahead of the 2025/26 season and his side have truly flourished, going from strength to strength each week under the Swede.

You could even say they’re now ‘Manchester City reborn’ as we lead the way for set-piece goals in the WSL and have scored nearly three times as many headed goals (eight) as any other team, which really showcases a key trait that’s been implemented. Beautifully pin-point crosses whipped into the likes of Miedema and Shaw, with the former leading the way for creating the most ‘big chances’.

“It’s been really nice to work with Andrée,” Miedema added.

“The way he wants to play football is really good and suits our team. 

“There’s a lot of freedom in it and he expects a lot from us every single day, which I think he should. 

“He’s been clear, open, honest and I think we’re very aligned.

“That really helps when you’re on the pitch, especially if things are tough at that time, it’s been nice to help each other and for him to come in the way he has.”

Andrée has enjoyed an impressive spell so far with just two defeats in the Barclays Women’s Super League and has previously praised the team’s desire to constantly improve on multiple occasions.

"First of all, for me to be out there again and on the pitch has been pretty special."

In a spectacular season, Miedema has taken on a slightly different role to what she has previously

“Obviously, I think I’m slightly different to most of the girls, I’ve almost changed position completely playing as a ten or sometimes even a bit deeper this season.

“And again, I think the biggest change compared to the last couple of seasons is he’s given me freedom to do what I think is best for the team at that time.

“I think you’ve seen a lot of different things in my game which people might not have seen before. It’s been really nice to adapt and to try and get the best qualities out of the players around me as well because we have so many players with different qualities which only makes me a better player as well. 

“We’re just very adaptable at the moment under him which has helped the team get the results when we needed them.”

With a new manager and a new style of play it could seem quite daunting to adapt to, but like the other City players, Viv has grasped the opportunity with both hands and thriving in it.

“[I’m enjoying it] a lot,” she explained.

“First of all, for me to be out there again and on the pitch has been pretty special.

“It took a while, but we’ve found a way to get me through the season so far, and hopefully we can keep going that way.

“I think for me it’s not so much about me but how I can help the players around me to be comfortable off the ball and also to given them as many chances on the ball. 

“I think I love being in that selfless role right now where it’s not necessarily about me but about making the rest better. 

“I’ve really enjoyed that and I think people have been able to see that.”

Jeglertz has almost finished piecing the puzzle together at City as we hurtle towards the curtain call of the 2025/26 season, but the work is far from over with seven all important games to go if we dare to dream of what could be.

Interview: Alice Wright

“You cheeky blue-nosed (expletive!), you’ve stitched us up royally, haven’t you?” he said, and laughed.

Later he told me that once the paint set on the jeans he wore for that session, they were freestanding in his hall for years as a memento of that day.

Me? I just loved the idea that he had a sky blue and white souvenir in his house. We’d often talk football and although we were rarely going to agree, we could respect one another’s point of view - well, at times anyway.

His tragic death leaves a huge cultural gap in the city, and my heart goes out to all his family and friends for their painful loss.

RIP Mani: One love, one heart and one soul.

Kevin Cummins

The latest Academy prospect to take the dream 5-a-side hotseat is Under-18s winger Christian Dunbar-McDonald.

Like always, he had to follow the same rules as his team-mates:

The 18-year-old can only select one goalkeeper, two midfielders and one striker – although we have granted him an exception on the latter!

Who did Christian select?

GOALKEEPER:
Oliver Whatmuff - he's good with his feet. He can play any pass in the world. And I feel like he enjoys football and I feel like in the 5-a-side team you need people who enjoy playing with the ball. 

DEFENDER:
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey - he loves dribbling and he always says he can dribble better than me. I think for my 5-a-side team I want players who can dribble.  

MIDFIELDER:
Divine Mukasa - I think we all know why. Left foot, right foot, got an abundance of ability and a really good friend of mine.

MIDFIELDER:
Nico O'Reilly - Again his ability speaks for itself. Physically scary, technically great, score goals, free-kicks, everything. 

FORWARD:
Ryan McAidoo/Joel Ndala – I can’t pick between these two so I’m going to combine them. Ryan is very direct and can score goals. He's got power whereas Joel has the skill and the flair so I've got to create a hybrid of the two, I can't pick between them!

Interview: Holly Percival

Approaching the summer of 2025, an inevitability for Sydney Lohmann was about to become a reality.  

The German international midfielder had just helped Bayern Munich to Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double at the end of the 2024/25 campaign as she further established herself as one of world football’s finest midfield enforcers.   

By lifting the league and cup, it raised her trophy haul to six for the club who she progressed through the academy of – including three successive top-flight titles.  

By her own admission, though, Lohmann knew a departure from her home nation and Bayern would eventually come.  

And ahead of the 2025/26 season, with the chance to join Manchester City, she knew it was the perfect chance to do so.  

“I always knew that at some point football would drag me out of Germany and my home,” she explained.  

“I had the feeling that last year was the right time. Not that it was not good, I loved it there and it was a hard decision, but I felt I needed something new.  

“I was watching City games for a year or so before moving and I thought they were playing great football.  

“They were unlucky in results, but I saw the potential that they can go up in the league and this felt like a good place to come to.”  

Lohmann completed her transfer to City in July 2025 and immediately helped Germany reach the semi-finals of the 2025 European Championships.   

"When you first meet people, you’re thinking more about what you do and I’ve noticed that you just have to take more initiative and be friendly with people."

After returning to Manchester, though, it was all eyes on the current Barclays Women’s Super League campaign – but before she was tested in the division - she had to take on a new challenge for the first time in her career, entering a new dressing room.  

But, under the guidance of Laura Coombs, the midfielder said it was an easy transition.  

She added: “Everyone welcomed me very nicely. It’s funny for me to be on the other side of it having been a player at Bayern who was there for a long time and welcoming new players in.  

“When you first meet people, you’re thinking more about what you do and I’ve noticed that you just have to take more initiative and be friendly with people.  

“I’ve been sitting next to Coombsy [Laura Coombs] in the locker room, who has been so nice and there’s no one better I could’ve sat next to.” 

Since making her debut in our curtain-raiser against Chelsea, Lohmann has totalled nine appearances for Andrée Jeglertz’s side. 

Injuries have limited her number of outings so far this season, but the Germany international says the mood at the City Football Academy and the Blues’ mentality has ensured a positive start to her life at the Club.  

And she’s looking forward to growing alongside her new teammates, on and off the field.  

“I’ve really enjoyed everything so far. I really enjoy being in this team and this environment,” Lohmann declared.  

“The football we play and the training is really fun so I look forward to coming in every day, even though it’s been up and down personally with niggles.  

"It takes a while but now this feels like home. When I am home in Germany, it feels like returning to Manchester is also becoming home."  

“I’ve still developed as a player and feel like I can grow a lot more.” 

Helping Lohmann settle at a new club for the first time in her career has been the sights and sounds of Manchester.  

Although the 25-year-old revealed she had to adapt to a smaller city than she was used to in Munich, her desire to experience a new culture was another factor in her decision to depart her homeland.  

And thanks to the friendliness of its residence and the things on offer, the city now feels like home for Lohmann. 

“It takes a while but now this feels like home. When I am home in Germany, it feels like returning to Manchester is also coming home.  

“I still get excited about being in my own apartment and knowing the cafes here that I prefer and trying out new ones all the time.  

“I really like strolling on the canals. The most outstanding thing I love about Manchester is the people. Everyone is so friendly and that’s something I’m trying to take with me.  

“I want to be more friendly, open and positive. Germans are a little bit more reserved in their first appearance but I think it just takes a little while to warm up with them.  

“Every culture is a little different but I think the way people speak to you here is such a positive here. When I would first go shopping, I didn’t know where to go I wouldn’t want to ask but now I don’t even hesitate because people are so open to help you.  

“It’s a smaller city than I’m used to but still there is everything. It’s a little bit different, but exciting, with lots of nice cafes and restaurants - and even the weather has been okay!”  

Interview: Sam Cox