Bernardo Silva has been elected as Manchester City’s captain for the upcoming 2025/2026 season.
Pep Guardiola raved about Bernardo’s leadership and rewarded his eight seasons of service with one of the biggest possible honours in football.
The Portuguese international is one of the Sky Blues’ senior heads in a dressing room that could lose Kyle Walker, who could join Everton and following Kevin De Bruyne’s move to Napoli.
While Bernardo is adored by Manchester City fans worldwide, the decision to hand him the armband has garnered mixed reactions.
Man City fans divided about Bernardo Silva being new captain
Some Manchester City fans are over the moon about Bernardo Silva being named as their new captain, with one supporter writing: “Excellent choice. He has given everything and will give everything for the club.”
A second supporter called out fans who are against the idea of the former AS Monaco midfielder captaining City, saying: “He’ll be a brilliant captain and I can’t get my head around the grief he’s been getting. The real fans love him.”
A third Manchester City fan believes Bernardo is the perfect candidate to captain the club, explaining: “Captain Bernardo, the most selfless and intelligent guy. Interesting to watch how he boss them around. Love him so much!”
However, other fans were not on board with Pep Guardiola’s decision, using several ‘laughing emojis’ before claiming that Rodri and Ruben Dias would have been better choices for the captaincy role than him: “We’ve got Rodri and even Dias right there lol.”
A fifth fan pointed out that with the six-time Premier League winner becoming the skipper, he is likely to play regularly; something he was not too amused about as he may be past his best now: “Bernardo is going to play a lot next season clearly. Deary me. My excitement just nosedived.”
A sixth Manchester City fan called out Pep Guardiola as he is unsure about what he even sees in Bernardo anymore: “I legit [legitimately] don’t know what Pep sees in this guy. He can’t pass forward, he doesn’t take players on, he’s a defensive liability, he’s not clinical in front of goal. All he does is cute dribbles in circles. If we offloaded KDB, we should 100% get rid of Bernardo as well.”
It’s safe to say that Guardiola’s decision could generate a lot of discourse over the course of the following campaign as well.
Bernardo Silva has confirmed his future at Manchester City
Bernardo has confirmed he will stay at the Etihad Stadium next season, another decision that could split Manchester City fans as well.
Pep Guardiola’s trusted soldier told reporters: “I know what I’m going to do but it’s not the time to talk about that.”
“I’m very focused on my season. I’m very focused on performing well for Man City.”
Bernardo concluded: “When the time is due I will talk about it. I have one year on my contract so obviously I can leave next season. This season for sure will be at City, I’m going to stay. I’ve had options in the past and this year, like last year, my option is to stay at Man City.”
