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Manchester City star and Barcelona target Bernardo Silva recently made a surprising admission, claiming that his goal is not to play for the best teams in the world.
The Portuguese said that he has always wanted to play for Benfica. Speaking to AS, Silva said:
"I want to return to Benfica to help, and I have to feel prepared . If it's to hang up the boots, I'd rather not go. My dream was not to play for the best club in the world; it was to play for Benfica. I didn't know what level I was going to get to."
He continued:
"I started at the age of seven, and I always played, from 12 to 17 I played very little, but having reached this level is a source of pride for me because I am at one of the best clubs in the world. I managed to reach the top."
Silva has been courted by Barcelona recently. The midfielder has said that he's willing to leave the Etihad if an appealing offer arrives. He said:
"I will not hide that my goal in recent years, if something good happens elsewhere, will probably be to change to a new project . Walking into a new team at the age of 29, I would only finish that contract at 34 years old.”
Silva reiterated his wish to play for Benfica, saying:
“If you ask me what I thought 10 years ago, my goal was to return to Benfica at the age of 32 at the latest. What do I think today? It depends on what happens next summer. I'm not going to lie, it's something I think about every year. It has always been a goal. I couldn't fulfill my dream of playing for Benfica when I was 19, 20 years old, but I still want to fulfill it.”
Silva has played 275 times for City, bagging 50 goals and 56 assists, since arriving in the summer of 2017.
Barcelona target Bernardo Silva wishes to play late into his 30s
Despite his interest in playing for Benfica, Barcelona-linked Bernardo Silva desires to continue playing at the highest level for a while. The 28-year-old said:
“The players, mainly in my position, with my characteristics, play at the highest level at least until they are 36 years old. We see Modric, who is 37 years old and continues to play for Real Madrid; he won the Champions League last season; he returned to the World Cup semifinals. ... We see players like Xavi, like Iniesta, who played until very late."
Silva has two goals and five assists in 24 games for City this season.
