Joao Cancelo has said that he was so impressed by what one Manchester City player does on the pitch.
The Portuguese international has made 154 appearances for the Manchester club, more than any other side he’s featured for in his career.
Despite not having played a competitive game for the Blues since January 2023, the full-back has shared his thoughts on one City player he used to share the dressing room with at the Etihad Stadium.
Cancel wowed by Man City star for one specific reason
In a recent video shared on the FIFPRO TikTok channel, Cancelo was asked to come up with his ultimate five-a-side team filled with current and former players.
When he got to the midfield, the full-back said this for one of his two picks.
He said: “Bernardo [Silva] because of his intelligence, his way of working, he is a player who runs a lot.
“At City he did 13-14 kilometres per game.”
City signed Silva from Monaco in a deal worth £43m during the 2017 summer transfer window.
During his time with Pep Guardiola’s side, the midfielder has made 349 appearances across all competitions, finding the back of the net 66 times and supplying 62 assists along the way.
Cancelo isn’t the one who loves Bernardo Silva
Having played in 128 games together for the Citizens, as well as 44 for the Portugal national team, it’s safe to say that the defender will be well aware of what Silva offers his side on the pitch.
During City’s recent 4-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford defender Ben Mee said that Silva was “working his socks off” in the buildup of City’s third goal of the game, which backs up Cancelo’s point about him being a very willing runner, with or without the ball at his feet.
With his fellow countryman also picking out the midfielder’s intelligence as being one of the reasons why he picked him for his ultimate five-a-side team, Guardiola has said previously that it’s this attribute that allows Silva to be able to play in numerous positions across the field when needed.
Taking all of that into account, we feel that the City star would be a super addition to any real or hypothetical five-a-side team.