Bernardo Silva expecting big changes at Manchester City this summer following ‘difficult’ season

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva has hinted that significant changes could be on the horizon for the club following what he described as a “very frustrating” campaign.

City’s Champions League journey came to an early end on Wednesday, marking their quickest exit from the competition since the 2012-13 season.

A 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu sealed their fate, following a 3-2 loss in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Meanwhile, in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola’s squad sit in fourth place, trailing league leaders Liverpool by 17 points ahead of their upcoming clash on Sunday.

Silva shared his thoughts on the difficulties of this season.

He said: “Of course, this season so far has been very frustrating. There are things that we can no longer recover: the Champions League, winning the Premier League. We’re out of the two most important competitions so we’re very, very sad.

“I’m sure that with some changes that the club will probably make at the end of the season because that’s how it is when you don’t win in football, we will try to bring this club back to the level it should be at.”

🚨 Bernardo Silva on Man City’s bad season: “It seems incomprehensible to me. I don’t have the right answer”.

“There’s a mixture of many things that have happened in the club. Not just injuries, that’s no excuse. The levels of calm and confidence aren’t the same”, told ESPN. pic.twitter.com/X8RdqUpjJM

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 20, 2025

Since arriving at City in 2017, Silva has secured an impressive 17 trophies, including six Premier League titles and a Champions League crown. However, he admitted that this has been his most challenging season at the club.

“No doubt,” he added. “A very difficult season. The whole season, there have been many matches where we were nowhere near our best.

“Against Madrid, we played against a very strong team, very, very experienced and very successful in this competition. But we didn’t do nearly enough to try and win the game. Madrid were much better and well, we have to accept it and try to improve every day for next season.”

City’s season has been hampered by injuries, with key players sidelined, including Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who suffered an ACL injury in September. However, Silva refused to use injuries as an excuse for their struggles.

“It [the slump] seems incomprehensible to me too,” he said. “I don’t have the right answer. There is a mixture of many things that have happened in the club too. Of course, not just the injuries, that’s no excuse. The levels of calm and confidence are not the same this season. The way the team plays is not the same and we have to get it back as quickly as possible.

“Once again, the number of easy balls that we conceded. We gave them everything they always wanted, which is a game of many losses, many, many times, that they can catch us on. And well, when that’s the case, when you don’t do the basics right, you don’t deserve to win a game like this.”

Despite the difficulties this season, Silva remains confident in Guardiola and the squad’s potential to bounce back.

“Yes, of course I do,” he said when asked about his belief in Guardiola. “That doesn’t change.

“There is also total confidence in the players that we have in the squad because they are the same. A little older, of course, but now with new energy.”