--- title: "Profit Players: Bernardo Silva has consistently delivered for Manchester City since £43m move" canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/profit-players-bernardo-silva-man-city-43m-transfer/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Liam Togher" section: "Features" published: "2020-08-15T15:00:12Z" modified: "2020-08-15T15:00:12Z" --- # Profit Players: Bernardo Silva has consistently delivered for Manchester City since £43m move **This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.** Manchester City take on Lyon tonight hoping to reach just their [second Champions League semi-final in their ninth successive season](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/manchester-city/pokalhistorie/verein/281) in the tournament. They will be striving to avoid a repeat of three years ago when their hopes were thwarted by Ligue 1 opposition in Monaco, who [eliminated Pep Guardiola’s side on away goals](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/39248906) in the last 16. Among that Monaco side was a Portuguese playmaker by the name of [Bernardo Silva](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premier-league/manchester-city/man-city-fans-praise-bernardo-silva/), who [impressed the Premier League club](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/may/28/bernardo-silva-monaco-manchester-city) sufficiently to persuade them to part with £43.6m in May 2017 (as per [The Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/05/26/bernardo-silva-completes-man-city-transfer-monaco-for43m/)) to bring him to the Etihad Stadium. [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/may/28/bernardo-silva-monaco-manchester-city)‘s Julien Laurens wrote that Man City were getting a “down-to-earth, hard-working player with extraordinary technique and vision” for that amount. Bernardo had to be patient during his first season in Manchester, making just [15 Premier League starts](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/136741/History/Bernardo-Silva) in the [100-point romp](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/tabelle/wettbewerb/GB1/saison_id/2017) to the title in 2017/18. However, he still accrued [six goals and five assists in 1,519 minutes](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/bernardo-silva/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/241641/verein/281) in the division, giving him an average of one goal per 253.1 minutes and an assist every 303.8 minutes. Across all competitions, his first year at the Etihad yielded [nine goals and 11 assists](https://www.mancity.com/news/first-team/first-team-news/2018/september/bernardo-silva-in-focus), while he popped up with some important interventions, such as the only goal in a [hard-fought home win over Chelsea](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43186392) in March 2018. Also, his 53 appearances in all tournaments were the [most of any City player that season](https://www.mancity.com/news/first-team/first-team-news/2018/september/bernardo-silva-in-focus). [Often deployed as a substitute](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/136741/History/Bernardo-Silva) in that season, Bernardo became a vital member of Guardiola’s starting XI in 2018/19, being handed [31 Premier League starts](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/136741/History/Bernardo-Silva) and delivering [seven goals and eight assists](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/bernardo-silva/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/241641/verein/281) as City [pipped Liverpool to the title by a point](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/tabelle/wettbewerb/GB1/saison_id/2018). His most important contribution was probably the[opening goal in the 2-0 win at Manchester United](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/04/24/manchester-united-vs-manchester-city-premier-league-live-score/) during the run-in. Following that title triumph, his manager raved about the player’s consistency, describing him as “nearly always an eight or a nine rating”, as per [news18.com](https://www.news18.com/news/football/guardiola-lavishes-praise-on-bernardo-silva-after-manchester-city-retain-premier-league-title-2138463.html). \[freshpress-poll id=”313655″\] Bernardo’s [three-year sequence of domestic league triumphs](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/bernardo-silva/erfolge/spieler/241641) came to an end in 2019/20 but he still maintained a steady ratio of goal contributions for City, [scoring six times and setting up seven goals](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/bernardo-silva/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/241641/verein/281) in the Premier League. Having also [helped Portugal to UEFA Nations League glory](https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/news/newsid=2609449.html) last summer, he was [nominated for the 2019 Ballon d’Or](https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/ronaldo-felix-and-silva-nominated-for-ballon-dor/51730), a testament to his continued influence at club and international level. At the time of his move to Manchester, he had a market value of £36m, as per [TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/bernardo-silva/marktwertverlauf/spieler/241641). The same website now values the Portugal winger, who [turned 26 this week](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/bernardo-silva/profil/spieler/241641), at [double that amount](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/bernardo-silva/marktwertverlauf/spieler/241641) – and that had been even higher at [£90m last year](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/bernardo-silva/marktwertverlauf/spieler/241641) until the market [receded in recent months](https://www.ft.com/content/067a3eeb-e915-48af-8384-94fdc495cf59) following the global pandemic. He was a [Champions League semi-finalist](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/bernardo-silva/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/241641/plus/0/saison/2016/wettbewerb/CL/verein/162) with Monaco three years ago and is now on the cusp of repeating that feat for Manchester City. Having played a part in ruining the Cityzens’ European dreams in 2017, the ever-consistent Bernardo may yet be crucial in helping to deliver the biggest prize in club football to the Etihad Stadium over the next few days. ***Man City fans, just how impressed have you been with Bernardo Silva during his time at the club? Have your say by commenting below!***