"No chance": Bernardo Silva on swapping UCL title for Ballon d'Or

NEW DELHI: Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva admitted that there is "no chance" he would swap his Champions League trophy with Ballon d'Or. The Portuguese midfielder lifted the UCL trophy with Manchester City last year in Istanbul following their 1-0 win over Inter Milan. Earlier this year, at the FIFA awards ceremony in London, Silva was picked as the eighth-best men's player of 2023. Argentinian maestro Lionel Messi was crowned the men's best player ahead of last year's leading Premier League goal-scorer, Erling Haaland.

"Recognition is always nice. But one senses, underneath the surface, there is a healthy disregard for these individual awards and their place in the game. It soon comes to the fore. In my opinion, I give the right amount of importance to these awards. Because, at the end of the day, we are playing a collective sport. Nowadays, the individual awards always go to the strikers because they have that last touch," he told Sky Sports. With two forwards emerging as the forerunners for the coveted title, Silva emphasized the importance of each position in a team's title-winning run. "But if you understand the game, a person who is inside the game, either a player or a manager, you know how important it is to have a proper goalkeeper, a proper defender, a proper midfielder and a proper striker.

Not just a proper striker. Strikers do not win you titles alone," Silva said. "The base comes from defence. If you defend well, you will attack better. When I look at individual awards and I see that only the guys who score goals win the awards I feel a bit like it does not represent our sport that well. I always do my best to support my teammates and do what is best for the team. In the end, winning the Champions League is much better than winning a Ballon d'Or. I would not swap it. No chance," he added.

Silva will now return to action in Euro 2024 for Portugal in Germany and is aiming to lift the coveted title in the upcoming edition. As he looks to replicate Portugal's triumph in 2016, he still remembers their success in 2016, a team he should have been a part of. Injury robbed Silva of a spot in Portugal's first major tournament success.

"It was a mix of emotions. I was so frustrated before the competition for not going because I wanted to be a part of it. I did all the qualifying. It would have been my first big tournament and I would have been there but I got injured," Silva said while talking about the moment. "But then, in the end, when they won it, I am Portuguese. Everyone was so happy, all my family, all my friends, everyone. So it was a mix of frustration for not being there but also being very happy because it was our first big title as a country," he added.

Portugal are placed in Group F alongside Turkey, Georgia and the Czech Republic. With an attack spearheaded by goal machine Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal will open their campaign against the Czech Republic on June 19 at the Red Bull Arena, Leipzig.