Bernardo thank you for joining us how was your summer? - Very good very good I
had the good time to rest to recover to be with my friends and family
so yeah I'm ready for the next season. - How did you find your first World Cup experience?
- Well for me personally it was a great experience to be there to
feel the atmosphere to play some of the games for Portugal it wasn't as
good as we expected as good as we wanted it to be but as I said it was my first
big competition with my country and it was a great experience for me.
- The final game for Portugal against Uruguay was probably a strange one for you because
obviously Portugal lost but your own personal performance was excellent we
were you pleased with your own performance even in even in defeat?
Yes I thought I was good but obviously we didn't win it was a big
disappointment for us to lose on the last 16 but as I said it was my
first big competition to be there to play a World Cup it's a completely
different competition than any other that I had played before and to be there
to play against some some great teams and to feel an entire country
behind us it was very good. - Now that you've had a little bit of time to
reflect on last season as it sunk in yet just how much you achieved both you
personally and the team? - Well I think to the entire squad, to the fans,
to the whole Club it was a fantastic season especially in the
Premier League that we broke all the records we made more than 100 points the
goals everything so yes it was a fantastic first season for me personally
for the whole club as I said and we're looking forward to try
and do even better especially on the other competitions like the FA Cup
and the Champions League and we'll work very hard.
- So I mean the players have only just come back together really what are you
getting a sense from them that they're ready to kind of kick on from
last season and actually trying to achieve more? - Yes of course I think
everyone's very hungry to get more titles to keep winning and as I
said we just got back some of the players just got back a few days ago but
you can feel that everyone is working very hard to start well this season and
to try and do even better than the last one. - Riyad Mahrez of course has
joined us this summer you've had a little bit of time to see him on the
training pitc, he's somebody who's done very very well in the Premier
League in his time here what are your initial thoughts having seen him up close?
- Well this is really good fantastic player everyone can see and
could see on the last few seasons what he did in the Premier League he will
for sure improve our squad and we're very happy to have him with us looking
forward to seeing score some goals and helping the team reach our goals
Do you think you may play centrally a little bit more this
season, is that something you've spoken to Pep about at all? - Well I haven't
spoken with him I've trained enough played one preseason in the middle I'm
available to play there I feel very well there most of the time
of my career as a young player I played there in the centre so yes I'm ready to
play there I'm ready to play on the right side or to play wherever the
manager thinks it's best to help the team - You mentioned to me a couple of
players in the past, central players like Rui Costa who were idols of
yours growing up, Deco being another what is it about those players that
makes them so special, is it the vision the touch the technique?
What is it that makes them stand out? - Well I think the way they understand the
game, the intelligence, the way they think and how fast they
think knowing already where to put the ball before receiving it I think
when you play in the middle you have to try and be as fast as you can to pass
the ball and to try and find the good spaces to continue the game so yeah
that's what what we try to do when I play in the middle.
We start the Premier League season with a trip to Arsenal I mean given that we had so many
players at the World Cup and that they've had a shorter preseason
that suddenly looks like quite a difficult task doesn't it to go to
Arsenal the very first day of the season knowing that for a lot of the players
they've not had that preseason that they would normally have?
Well it is what it is, the players, especially these players that play within a Club like
Man City are used to going to big competitions like World Cups and
European Cups so no excuses of course we didn't have as much time as probably
last season to prepare the beginning of the league but we will be there we'll
try and win it we will work as hard as we can to win match by match and to arrive
on the end of the season and win another Premier League title?
And of course you could become the first team to defend the Premier League in 10 years,
it's a competition that is becoming increasingly difficult to defend what
why do you think that is? - Well that's why the Premier League is so special and you
have probably six maybe more teams that that can win the title so it's never
easy to defend the title we'll try and do it we have the ambition of trying to
win it every year but knowing that we have big rivals and very tough teams
that every year buy a lot of fantastic players and prepare themselves very well
- I've got to talk about your first such as well it's a kind of first
touch I've never really seen the way the way that you do it,
when did you first realise that you had this outstanding first touch and also is
it something that the other members of the squad recognised and maybe
mentioned to you on the training field? - Yes I think so it's something that
since I was young I felt it was really important to
have on my game, with your first touch to prepare
the ball as well as you can to keep going in the game to dribble or to pass
on to the other player so yeah I tried to do it as well as I can
happily I think I'm I'm okay with that. - And your friend Benjamin Mendy of
course he struggled with injury a little bit last season but he's back now and
ready to play a lot more this season I mean you know the kind of character he
is how did he react to spending quite a lot of time on the sidelines and
do you think he's the kind of guy who will just come back and hit the ground running?
- Well I hope so I know he worked very hard to come back as well
as he could to play the World Cup unfortunately yeah that injury that
kept him out of the pitch for a long period but hopefully this season
with a good preseason and with the World Cup that he had already to prepare
himself and I know he worked hard on his holiday it will be
important for us he will improve the team and we will see again the Benjamin
Mendy that we saw at Monaco and that we didn't see at Man City
because of the injury. - How good do you think he can be for City?
Well, very good, I've seen Mendy playing, and I've played alongside
him in Monaco and I know how good is our physical he is and how strong, and yes he's a
fantastic player when he is at the top level physically I hope he comes back well.
- Another friend of yours Fabinho has joined Liverpool this
summer how good is he and what kind of impact can we expect him to have on the
Premier League? - Well very good, he's a big friend of mine,
I've played with him for three seasons in Monaco a very intelligent player, very
physical as well, recovers a lot of balls and I think it was a great signing
for Liverpool. I hope him the best I wish him the best.
Not against Man City but as a friend of mine I think I he will be successful.
- Who do you think City's main rival in the Premier League will be this season?
- Well Liverpool they've signed some good players, Keita, Fabinho and
the goalkeeper Alison, Shaqiri.
Chelsea as well they changed the manager Sarri is a fantastic manager that
played some very good football at Napoli, they've signed Jorginho, yeah I
think it will be between them, obviously you have a lot of teams
that can win the Premier League but I think Chelsea and Liverpool and Man
United are some teams that won't be easy to beat.