Bernardo Silva admits that he misses former teammate Julian Alvarez after Manchester City reluctantly let him go.
Alvarez, 25, was sold at the Etihad Club in the summer after two seasons to Atletico Madrid for £ 81 million. After helping the city to win two Premier League titles and a Treble, the Argentinian attacker was often wide, bent or used in a deeper role of Pep Guardiola to house Erling Haaland.
He drew for Diego Simeone's Atletico in search of more minutes, leaving City his exit behind. Since then, the side of Guardiola has missed their typical spark in forward areas throughout the season and has to spit out to get players such as Savinho and Omar Marmoush to strengthen their front line.
And even the veteran-attacking midfielder of City, Silva, has come out and has admitted how much of an emptiness of Alvarez left this season, both in terms of his assets and his personality in the dressing room.
Silva said about the winner of the World Cup 2022: “I really miss him because he is an exceptional teammate and I love him. I am very happy that he is doing well. He is a great guy and he earns everything.
“When I see Julián scoring a goal, I am very happy for him; He is doing very well. Atlético de Madrid has a very good season. I am very happy for him. “
Alvarez registered an impressive 36 goals and 18 assists in 103 performances for City. His impact was such that manager Guardiola admitted that his sale could come back to chase him, which refers to a potential “mistake”.
Prior to the trip to West Ham at the end of August, the Catalan tactician said: 'I am happy with the team. We did not expect Julian to leave, although he had conversations with other clubs and his agent a long time ago, so it could happen and eventually it happened.
“We have seen what we have, if we have a lot of injuries, it will be a problem, but in a few months Oscar Bobb will be back and Phil [Foden] is in that position, [James] McATEE can play in that position, [Ilkay] Gundogan can play in that position, Bernardo [Silva]…
“They are of course different players to Erling. Maybe it's a mistake, I don't know, but I don't like to leave players without playing long. When everyone is involved in a chance to play, the performance of the teams is always better. “
Alvarez is not the only attacking talent City has really regretted it lately, because Cole Palmer has shown Etihad in the same way since he switched to Chelsea.
After a slow start of the season, Alvarez was especially effective in the Champions League for Atletico. Six of his 16 goals have come to Europe, while he has also managed three assists in all competitions, because Atletico ditch the gorge to one point on La Liga leaders Real Madrid on the weekend.
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