Gary Neville says Kevin De Bruyne had the edge over Bernardo Silva in the year, 2023.
The popular pundit opted for De Bruyne over the Portuguese maestro due to his superior goal contributions while picking his EA FC 24 Team of The Year on Sky Sports (via YouTube).
Jamie Carragher, however, favoured Bernardo Silva in his side over the £54 million (The Times) man.
Gary Neville says Kevin De Bruyne was better than Bernardo Silva in 2023
The Belgian captain was one of the mainstays for Pep Guardiola as his side romped their way to a staggering treble-winning campaign.
Throughout the campaign, De Bruyne reiterated the fact that he is one of the standout performers in his position across world football.
Despite a hamstring injury keeping Kevin De Bruyne out of contention for much of the ongoing season, Gary Neville included him in his side over Bernardo Silva.
“I can’t argue with Bernardo Silva, to be honest with you. I love him to bits. I asked for the stats between Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne”, he said on Sky Sports.
Gary Neville broke down the goal and assist numbers Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva accumulated in 2023 to make his argument.
“I watched those players equally as much as you [Jamie Carragher] do. From the point of view of eyes, I see them equally as you. So, it’s just a case of okay, what do you look at? Kevin De Bruyne played 29 appearances, seven goals and 15 assists, so 22 goal contributions.”
“Bernardo Silva, 52 appearances, which is obviously nearly double and he’s got 10 goals and five assists, which is 15 goal contributions. From the point of view of seven [goals] and 15 [assists], 22 goal contributions in 29 games in a treble-winning season.”
“And look, we both [Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher] love both of these players, there’s no argument here about these two because I can’t really be disappointed if Bernardo Silva is in. But Kevin De Bruyne, for me has not played as many games but his goal contributions and involvement is enormous.”
Judging Bernardo Silva by goal and assist numbers isn’t a fair barometer
Regardless of whether one thinks Kevin De Bruyne or Bernardo Silva performed better last year, in our view, Gary Neville is using the incorrect barometer to make his argument.
The former AS Monaco technician is a controlling presence wherever he plays, unlike De Bruyne, who virtually played as a second striker in the previous campaign and is renowned for producing output season after season.
Similar to Liverpool’s Thiago or Real Madrid’s Luka Modric, Bernardo Silva is the type of player who specialises in dictating the tempo of a game.
As a result, an improper way of assessing the ex-Benfica midfielder’s displays is by taking a peek at the goals and assists he produces in any season or during any calendar year.
