Bernardo Silva Opens Up on How Pep Lured Him to Man City & the 'Most Difficult Moment of My Life'

​​Manchester City and Portugal ace Bernardo Silva have opened up on the heartbreak of missing Euro 2016 and revealed how his current manager Pep Guardiola convinced him to leave Ligue 1 side Monaco.

Writing for The Players Tribune, the 23-year-old opened up on missing out on Euro 2016 with injury, where Portugal won their first ever major trophy.

He stated: "My luck couldn’t have been worse. I had been playing with the national team in the qualifiers, but I was injured while playing for Monaco, my club team, in the very last game of the season — right before the Euros. 

"It was probably the most difficult moment of my life, and it was bittersweet watching Portugal progress through the tournament. By the time the final came around I was already back with AS Monaco, at our preseason training camp in Switzerland. 

"(When we won) We couldn’t believe it. Winning that title was a fantastic achievement for a small country like ours."

The tenacious midfielder also claimed the chance to play under Pep Guardiola was pivotal in his decision to leave Monaco for Man City, and said: "The one moment I’ll never forget was in 2017 when we (Monaco) played the Champions League match against Manchester City at the Etihad. It was the crazy game that ended 5–3."

"As I was going for some interviews in the tunnel, I ran into Pep Guardiola. I didn’t even think he would look at me, but he stopped and shook my hand and told me that I’d played a great game. We spoke for a bit, and it was just unbelievable because I had admired him so much for the way his teams always played football in such a creative way. It was exactly my style of football.

"For me, there is no better place to be than Man City. A lot has been written about Pep, but I still don’t think people fully understand how much he is a master of details. Before games he often says that he is giving us the map, but that we have to solve the riddles out on the pitch. For anyone who is obsessed with football, he’s the perfect manager to learn from. I wake up every day so happy to be playing football here."

In other news, ​the Citizens are believed to be edging closer to signing ​Napoli midfielder Jorginho, with the two clubs rumoured to be ironing out the finer points of the deal

The ​Serie A outfit are thought to be demanding a series of bonus payments as part of the agreement, while City are looking to pay no more than the initial €47m price tag.