'Everyone wants to know' - Bernardo Silva finally asks Pep Guardiola the question fans has wanted answering for years
Bernardo Silva finally asked Pep Guardiola the burning question on Monday night but the departing Manchester City manager struggled to answer.
Guardiola managed City for the final time on Sunday after calling time on his decorated 10-year stint at the Etihad Stadium.
The Catalan lost his last game 2-1 to Unai Emery's Europa-League winning Aston Villa but had a special send-off afterwards - as well as a farewell event the following day.
City held a bus parade through the streets of Manchester marking their FA Cup and Carabao Cup success, as well as the women's team winning the WSL and the Under 18's lifting the FA Youth Cup.
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Afterwards, City put on a huge event at the Co-op Live near the Etihad and brought out all 20 trophies from Guardiola's tenure - with special appearances from former captains Vincent Kompany, and Fernandinho, as well as and Ederson, Jack Grealish and Noel Gallagher, among others.
He also received a video message from NBA icon Michael Jordan, one of his idols.
On stage, his final skipper Silva, who is also leaving the Blues alongside fan favourite John Stones, quizzed his long-time manager in a hilarious segment.
Guardiola took part in a Q&A with a few of his players that centered around some of the many memes he has been the subject of.
Stones asked him for clarification when he spoke about about the England defender having "more balls" and Silva used his opportunity to finally find out who Guardiola was talking to in the clip of him looking like he was having a tactical conversation with an empty red chair.
Silva asked: "Pep, the question is - everyone wants to know - but who are you talking to here?"
Guardiola was in immediate in hysterics and covered his face before shaking his head. City fans then erupted in their infamous 'We're not really here" chant.
The video was shared online and racked up more than a million views on social media.
Pep Guardiola abandoned radical tactical role for Bernardo Silva
Silva was referred to as Guardiola's 'son' such was his close relationship with the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach after signing from AS Monaco.
He played 460 times in nine years and had stints in virtually every position on the pitch. Versatile Silva played in midfield, as a striker and even filled a gap at left-back when City suffered an injury crisis.
It has since been revealed by Silva that he was actually set to play as a centre-back against Arsenal at the Emirates in 2023, partnering Ruben Dias at the heart of the backline.
In the end, Guardiola changed his mind and put him at left-back, with Nathan Ake playing at centre-back in a vital 3-1 win for City.
“In the beginning, his first idea was to play me at centre-back, and I actually trained at centre-back,” Silva told The Athletic as part of a detailed long read on Guardiola's time at City.
“Arsenal away, the one where I played left-back. So Nathan (Ake) was playing left-back, me and Ruben (Dias) centre-backs, and when he called me to his office, I just thought, ‘Wow…’ He said, ‘Can you do it?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I will try for sure. You know it’s not my natural position, but I will do it if you want me to do it.’
“Then we trained after one day and he said, ‘I think it’s better if we change, Nathan comes to the centre and you go left-back.’ Even then it probably seemed crazy to do that, especially in such a difficult game against Arsenal, who were top of the league at that time. And we won that game and it was nice. It’s nice to have the trust of your manager to play in any position on the field.”
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva, Man City
Josh Lawless