When Manchester City purchased Bernardo Silva for £43m in 2017, the club’s fanbase had already been treated twice-over to ninety-minute teasers. 

A couple of months earlier, Pep Guardiola’s side had exited to Monaco after a hugely engaging, high-scoring Champions League quarter-final and in both fixtures, the Portuguese baller stood out, exhibiting all of the attributes that have since bamboozled English defences.

He was poised and elusive, with a whip-smart understanding of his surroundings. He was forever popping up in dangerous areas to perform another conjuring feat of clever ball-retention.

The player’s magnetic relationship with the ball and dervish movement had him run rings around Gael Clichy, and Nicholas Otamendi, and Yaya Toure, and in truth many more because when Silva had possession he drew opposition players to him like a tractor beam, in doing so creating acres of space for team-mates.

City fans therefore were excited by the signing, and rightly so. They had just recruited one heck of a winger, an impish creative who could turn the live betting markets upside-down with one dip of a shoulder. 

In the event however, their assessment was only half correct, because what wasn’t so evident on those two continental nights was how tenacious he was. How hard-working.

In his five years at City no other player has run more or pressed with such ferocity. Last season, Bernardo Silva covered more ground that any other player, averaging a phenomenon and lung-busting 11.90km per 90.

In his five years in East Manchester, Silva has played 46% of his 170 appearances as part of a midfield three, and only 33% of the time he has been stationed out wide.

This then is not an out-and-out winger, nor a combative midfielder, but rather a hybrid. He is in effect two players rolled into one, both of them utterly brilliant.

Which frankly doesn’t seem fair given that City are already a remarkably well together outfit. Viewed a certain way it’s like starting each match with a man advantage so is it any wonder the Blues have won the league on four occasions during his spell here while according to the Premier League betting, they are hot favourites to do so again.  

His quality and consistency is such that in 2019, City supporters were pushing for their little maestro to be included in a serious conversation for that year’s Ballon d’Or, but regarding his vitalness to the team it’s his versatility of attributes that we return to.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Bernardo Carvalho E Silva (@bernardocarvalhosilva)

Guardiola’s blueprint is convoluted and demanding, and to possess a player who is equally capable of working his socks off as carving our opportunities is a priceless commodity for the Catalan.

It means he can push the boundaries elsewhere in his set-up. Take greater risks. 

Bernardo Silva may not have made our recent all-time top ten of City players list but it should not be under-estimated how pivotal he’s been during their greatest ever era. 

Regrettably, from a club perspective, it remains to be seen how much longer Silva will prove so indispensable. For two consecutive summers rumours have abounded about the player wishing to ply his trade closer to home, with Barcelona twice showing sustained interest. 

Even neutrals would agree it would be sad to see him go, because what we have here is a footballer who is quintessentially English in attitude, and European in application. He’s been nothing but a joy to watch.

Bernardo Silva announces that he’s not going to Barcelona: “I’m going to stay at Manchester City. I haven't received any offers”. 🚨🔵 #MCFC

“I'm staying in Manchester, here I'm happy and the decision has been made”, says via @FCBRAC1. pic.twitter.com/DIQjW6ZUAg

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 31, 2022

Though obviously, should he depart, City will be okay. They’ll cope. In Kevin De Bruyne they have an accomplished artisan.

Then there’s Grealish, and Foden, and Mahrez, not to mention the eternally under-rated Gundogan and not to mention either, the emerging, potentially generational Cole Palmer. 

But that is almost besides the point, for that overlooks how crucial their scheming, tackling, dribbling, pressing master of all trades is to their endeavours, and has been to their successes. There really is only two Bernardo Silvas.

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• Phil Jones was once England’s next big hope with a bright future beckoning 

• A cruel succession of injuries ultimately left him a forgotten figure at Old Trafford 

• Despite barely featuring for the Reds, Jones has still accrued enormous wealth

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Born in Preston, Lancashire, on February 21st, 1992, Philip Anthony Jones came through the youth ranks at Blackburn Rovers before quickly establishing himself as a defender of real promise. 

Physically strong and with an instinctual reading of danger, Jones could play at centre-back, right-back or in midfield, and so assured was he in each role that it wasn’t long before Manchester United came calling, bidding £16.5m for his services in 2011. 

Just two years after making his professional debut, the teenager was now playing for the champions of England, under arguably the greatest manager in Premier League history. 

Initially, the young defender thrived, helping his new team secure yet another league crown in 2013 and putting in performances that saw him compared to former legends, but sadly this is a career defined by injuries and lots of them.

At the age of 30, Jones has made 204 top-flight appearances but really, it should be considerably more.

Still, he has a medal haul many other footballers would envy, while a decade at Old Trafford has furnished Jones with enormous wealth.

Net Worth

The Manchester United star has a net worth reputed to be in the region of £18m, a figure that’s an unimaginable fortune to most of us but is hardly excessive for a Premier League footballer of 13 years standing. Which is why some context is required.

Firstly, fair or otherwise, defenders are rarely the highest paid players at a club, and this explains why so many of Jones’ team-mates are considerably richer.

By playing in more advanced positions, they are the headline-makers, the marquee names, and subsequently their earning power is far greater.

Jones’ persistent injury concerns are also a factor, with diminished game-time leading to the defender becoming a peripheral figure at Old Trafford in recent years.

His salary duly reflects this and presently his deal runs at £75,000 a week, or £3.9m per year. 

It is telling that regular first-team defenders at United are on significantly more, with Luke Shaw, for example, earning exactly double this number. Raphael Varane earns Jones’ annual salary every two-and-a-half months.

By staying loyal to United, it’s also pertinent that Jones has not benefited from any signing-on fees since 2011, while his long-term absences have seriously decreased his playing bonuses.

It should not be under-estimated to what extent bonuses boost a footballer’s coffers.

Regardless, Jones need not seek out any pay-day loans anytime soon, residing in a £5m mansion in Alderley Edge and driving a £200,000 customised Bentley.

Manchester United

Jones impressed from the off on joining United, excelling in a number of different positions and playing with a composure that belied his lack of experience. 

Naturally therefore, a good amount of hype grew around this young prodigy, with Sir Bobby Charlton claiming that the teenager reminded him of the great Duncan Edwards.

England boss Fabio Capello meanwhile, compared Jones to the incomparable Franco Baresi when introducing the youngster to the international scene.

Perhaps, the biggest compliment was paid by Sir Alex Ferguson, who said in 2013: “The way he is looking, he could be our best ever player.”

Regrettably, a succession of injuries eventually saw his star fade, with a series of hamstring, ankle and toe problems vastly reducing his output and ultimately curtailing his potential. 

Jones is currently seeing out the final year of his contract with the Red Devils and with the Premier League betting odds suggesting a new dawn is imminent at United under Erik Ten Hag, we are unlikely to see the 30-year-old remain a Premier League player for too much longer. 

Injuries

Blighted by injuries throughout his career, Jones can curse his rotten fortune more than most. 

At Blackburn a torn knee cartilage was a sign of things to come, but he recovered fully and made his big-money move to Manchester United with a clean bill of health.

Sadly, in 2013 the same knee flared up again, keeping him out of action for two months and worse was to come when a shoulder complaint had him in the treatment room for two months more.

Then came the hamstring problems, followed by a succession of ankle problems that kept him on the side-lines for weeks, sometimes months at a time.

By his late-twenties, rival supporters had cruelly made him a figure of fun due to his seemingly constant fitness issues while United fans had by now long given up on the faint hope of a career resurrection. 

Remarkably, fate had held back its worst twist for last. In the summer of 2020 yet another knee injury was so severe it necessitated well over a year of rehab and this proved to be the final straw for the beleaguered star.

“My head was an absolute mess,” Jones relayed to the BBC in 2021, adding that he had been ‘to hell and back’.

England

According to the sports betting, the Three Lions are third favourites to lift the World Cup this winter and it must be an additional source of great frustration to Jones that he is no longer part of the international set-up, due to circumstances beyond his control. 

Making his England debut in 2011, under Capello, the defender went on to make 27 appearances for his country, a scant return for a player of such rare promise.

What stands out from these is not any exceptional displays, nor any notably disappointing ones, but rather the number of major tournaments he has been a part of.

Jones has been to two World Cup and a Euro Championships despite barely featuring in any qualifiers or friendlies. 

Family

The United star met Kaya Hall in 2011 and six years later the couple wed in a low-key ceremony at a church close to their home in Cheshire.

Several of Jones’ team-mates were present, including Wayne Rooney, but this was not a typical footballer wedding but rather a traditional affair centred around family.

One year after they wed, Kaya gave birth to daughter Alaria, born just prior to Jones’ surprise inclusion in England’s World Cup squad. 

The couple are steadfastly private by nature, keeping public appearances to a minimum save for club and charity events and epitomising this is Kaya’s Instagram account that has a mere 369 followers.

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*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 1st September 2022

A prodigy at Santos, drawing comparisons to Pele, Robinho moved to Real Madrid in 2005.

Just three years later, the Brazilian was the subject of perhaps the most stunning transfer in football history as he signed for Manchester City on the final day of the transfer window. 

The price of £32.5 million might not seem much by modern standards. At the time, it was a British record transfer fee, and came after rumours that Chelsea were plotting a move for the Brazil international.

The circus around the transfer led to an embarrassing slip of the tongue from Robinho, when he claimed he was happy to have agreed to sign with Chelsea soon after joining City (luckily, a reporter was on hand to correct him).

Not only was this a ground-shaking transfer, it was also one of the Premier League’s true one-season wonders. By the strictest of definitions, too, as Robinho played just one full season with City before returning to Santos on loan in 2010. 

A transfer which was meant to propel City in Champions League betting odds under new ownership had no such impact.

In fact, Robinho didn’t do a great deal to change Premier League odds either, as City finished 10th in his lone campaign in the northwest.

👌 @Robinho, the hattrick hero! #mancity pic.twitter.com/VQcFftOfVO

— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 26, 2017

Despite scoring 11 times in his first 14 Premier League matches for City, Robinho’s attitude came into question, and it was reported he left a team training camp in Tenerife. 

Speaking to FourFourTwo in 2017, Robinho shared his version of events.

"When I arrived at City, I hadn’t had any vacation time and he promised me he'd give me one week to get some rest. 

"I believed what he told me so when I travelled to Tenerife, I went to him and said, "Mister, can I have my vacation now?" 

"He said, "OK." I packed my things, let the club know that I was leaving and enjoyed a week back home because he had allowed me to go—he had given me his word."

Of course, City became a force in the following years, but Robinho played no part as he looked for a move abroad when he returned from his loan with Santos.

Ultimately, he joined Milan on a permanent deal in the summer of 2010, ensuring his time as a factor in Premier League predictions was short-lived. 

While he didn’t come close to matching expectations after City splashed such an extravagant fee, the 2008-09 campaign was a taster of what Robinho’s career in England could have been.

He finished with 14 league goals (only Nicolas Anelka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard had more). 

The best Brazilians have rarely come to the Premier League, with Kaka, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and others opting to stay in Spain and Italy.

 

 

 

 

 

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Robinho, albeit for a short period, bucked that trend, giving a sighting of samba flair among the industry and physicality of the Premier League.

Memories of Robinho’s playing days have been forever tarnished by his involvement in the gang rape of a woman in Milan in 2017, however.

The former Brazilian international was found guilty of sexual assault and sentenced to nine years in prison. The conviction was upheld in early 2022, and an international arrest warrant was given in February of the same year.

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*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 31st August 2022