In the end Bernardo Silva couldn’t resist the temptation to create history with Manchester City.
The lure of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and the riches of Saudi Arabia were rejected in the summer for one outstanding reason – to help Pep Guardiola's side land an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title.
In fact the feat has never been achieved since the Football League was formed back in 1892. To the dismay of his illustrious suitors he signed a 12 month contract extension keeping the 29-year-old Portuguese playmaker at the Eithad until 2026.
“We heard that four titles in a row has never been done before so we want to try to do that,” he enthused. “It is so tough every year especially when you remember that two of the titles were just a difference of one point and won in the last games.
“For example the Aston Villa game (May 2022) where we were losing 2-0 in minute 70 so it is not easy to win it. Now we are going to try and keep creating history and putting the name of this team as one of the best ever. That means something to us.”
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Sunday's Old Trafford opponents, Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, twice won the title three years on the spin but couldn’t manage to stretch the run to four consecutive gongs.
Having lost influential skipper Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez during last summer’s transfer window, Guardiola, who never stands in the way if players want to move on, was delighted after some doubts, especially with Barcelona banging on the door, that Silva remains an important cog in his star-studded squad.
For Silva who arrived from Monaco in May 2017 for £43 million it’s 15 medals and counting. He stated: “I am in my seventh season at City and I can only remember one season when we weren’t successful (Guardiola’s first campaign). It has been wanting to keep winning but it’s not easy to be a winning team.
“Obviously the other teams will try and find new ways of beating us because we have won so much in the last few years. They will try to improve their teams and do their best.”
It means that Silva, who through Gundogan’s move to Barcelona and Kevin de Bruyne’s injury absence, has assumed extra responsibility as one of the more experienced players.
He maintains that, especially after last season’s treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup, it’s about retaining the hunger to add more silverware to an overflowing trophy cabinet. “The quality is still here, the team is almost the same, so if the hunger levels are still the same the chances of us winning again are high,” he said.
“Even knowing that our rivals are better this season we can do it. Everyone is so important in the squad. You see that when big players are injured and when the most important players can’t play the team still performs.
“Everyone feels useful and that they can help this team achieve the next step and that creates a good energy in the dressing room as well.”
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