Bernardo Silva leaves Camp Nou with honey on his lips

Seeing Bernardo Silva dressed in a short at the Camp Nou was the dream of every Barça fan this summer, the icing on the cake of a very active transfer window.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
24 August 2022 Wednesday 16:35
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Bernardo Silva leaves Camp Nou with honey on his lips

Seeing Bernardo Silva dressed in a short at the Camp Nou was the dream of every Barça fan this summer, the icing on the cake of a very active transfer window. More than 90,000 gathered this Wednesday night to fulfill his wish, although surely this is not what they dreamed of. Instead of wearing the gray shirt for the first time with the Creu de Sant Jordi in the center, he took to the pitch wearing the same kit he has been wearing for the last five years, that of Manchester City. Ferran Soriano, CEO of the English club, assured in the Què T'hi Jugues program that "it is a little late to talk about entrances and exits" and that "this story has taken many turns and deep down has not moved from the point of departure". Many of those present refused to accept these words and received the Portuguese with applause when they heard his name on the stadium's public address system, thinking that perhaps the case is not closed yet.

From the warm-up he showed what he is: a different player. Blue breastplate to distinguish himself, he participated in the rondo as a pivot, giving support to his teammates in the center. One, two touches maximum, without giving away a ball. Just seeing his ability to orient himself and his tact to return the leather, it is difficult to think of a better fit piece at Barça. But the culé parish does not hold a grudge against him. The match begins, Bernardo Silva receives a long ball from his goalkeeper and the Camp Nou begins to timidly clap their hands, imagining that for a moment he was not wearing the rival team's fluorescent shirt and that the pass was received from Iñaki Peña. Surely the 28-year-old midfielder, who has never publicly ruled out his departure, would also prefer to be on the other side after ten minutes of total dominance and Barça chances, at least until Julián Álvarez's goal.

“If I stay, I am very happy and I will always respect this club and give my best. If not, it's football and we'll see what happens," the player told ESPN. Now you know that going out is not an option. The market is days away from closing and Silva is too important a piece for Pep Guardiola to let her escape without having time to react. In addition, the blockage in the exit operation of Frenkie De Jong makes the operation impossible from the economic point of view. Precisely, the Dutchman fought him in the same area of ​​the field. After the first ten minutes, he sliced ​​a ball from him and aroused euphoria in the public. A duel that could perfectly be taking place in reverse, and the Catalans are so happy.

Barça began to deflate midway through the first half, as did the emotion caused by the Portuguese's first touches. But it was just then that the equalizer came. Bernardo, meanwhile, was still not very participative, always between Álvarez and Riyad Mahrez, very covered and with no chance of unbalancing, except for one occasion in which he was able to take a shot with some danger. With João Cancelo entering the break, who does everything in attack except as a winger and often occupies the areas that previously belonged to Silva, he was able to go down a bit to receive and found a more reliable partner than Kyle Walker to triangulate inside.

His participation grew, but at no time was the differential Bernardo Silva seen who, without going any further, played last weekend at St. James' Park against Newcastle. Rodrigo Hernández also came in for the injured Kalvin Phillips, another good support when it comes to combining and retaining possession. However, he could hardly enjoy his company. In the 63rd minute, the fourth referee raised the banner: green on the 17th, red on the 20th. Kevin De Bruyne replaced Barça's object of desire in the face of the public's indolence, which, perhaps due to his discreet game, reduced the effusiveness of the cheers. At the end of the day, Bernardo will not wear the Blaugrana shirt at the moment. The Camp Nou is left with honey on its lips.