Manchester City have a large number of players in their squad who have been at the club for a significant amount of time.
Since Pep Guardiola took charge of the Citizens back in 2016, seven players currently in the squad have racked up over 200 appearances across all competitions.
During their time under Guardiola, they have helped City win many domestic and European trophies, including six Premier League titles.
Now though, one of those seven players has been hailed by one of his international teammates, who also knows what it takes to play for a big side in England.
Diogo Jota says Bernardo Silva is one of the most intelligent players he’s played with
Appearing in a recent video shared on Goal’s official TikTok channel, Diogo Jota was asked to build his ultimate teammate based on certain attributes such as who has the best left foot, right foot, speed, strength, skills and football intelligence.
For the football intelligence trait, the Liverpool winger picked Bernardo Silva.
Silva’s intelligence makes him a key figure for City
During his time at City, the 29-year-old has scored 66 goals and delivered the same number of assists in 355 appearances, which is more than any other player at the club has made under Guardiola.
On the international stage, Silva has played in 26 games for Portugal with Jota, racking up two joint goal participations along the way.
In terms of his intelligence, this isn’t the first time Silva’s footballing intellect has been hailed, as Guardiola said after City’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final last season that he feels relaxed when the midfielder is on the pitch due to the intelligence he has to be able to keep hold of the ball when needed.
Even though Jota has played with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix and Bruno Fernandes for Portugal, the fact that he picked the City star for the intelligence attribute when building his ultimate teammate shows just how much of a special player Silva is for club and country.