Silva laments City’s elimination from Club World Cup: “We didn’t want a vacation”

Orlando, Florida – Bernardo Silva has rejected the idea that Manchester City’s early elimination from the FIFA Club World Cup could be a positive thing. The player stated that “nobody wanted more vacation.” The City was defeated in the round of 16 by Al Hilal, after an exciting match in Orlando. This means that Pep Guardiola and his team return home two weeks before the final, which will be held on July 13. Had they advanced in the tournament, City would have only had four weeks to rest and prepare for the start of the Premier League, scheduled for August 16th. Now, City will enjoy a more extended rest. However, Silva, who had only five days of rest between the end of last season and the Club World Cup, after playing with Portugal in the Nations League, insists that the players did not want this extra free time. “Nobody wanted to lose, nobody wanted more holidays,” Silva declared. “We are very used to not having vacations, unfortunately, because the schedule is crazy.” But when we are in a competition, we take it very seriously and we had a lot of ambition in this Club World Cup and we wanted to win it.”

When asked if the feeling of being eliminated was similar to that of leaving the Champions League, the 30-year-old player replied: “Yes, a little, yes”. The City plans to return to Manchester from its training base in Boca Raton, Florida, on Tuesday. Silva commented that the players still don’t know how much rest they will have, but assured that the team will be ready to start their campaign in the Premier League when they face Wolves at Molineux on August 16. “We still don’t know [the schedule],” he said. “We know when the Premier League starts, we will try to rest as much as possible, but also return to prepare properly for the season. That’s not my job, it’s the coach and his staff’s job to prepare the players, two or three weeks, whatever. But we’re going to prepare for the season.”