You'd imagine the mood at Manchester City is quite buoyant at this moment in time. The club have won the League Cup, are favourites heading into their Champions League quarter final with Liverpool and are a whisker away from their third Premier League title.
So why does the squad feel the need to mercilessly bully Bernardo Silva? Twitter user Beardamendi has compiled a quite comprehensive list of all the times that the City squad has had a go at the Portugese playmaker.
Exhibit A - Silva is launched into a pool
1. Bernardo Silva getting launched into a pool.pic.twitter.com/4s6qlnwkvX
— • (@Beardamendi) April 1, 2018
Exhibit B - Silva gets his boots wrecked
2. Bernardo getting his shoes tied to the roof.pic.twitter.com/DPJ5UqzAsS
— • (@Beardamendi) April 1, 2018
Exhibit C - Silva gets manhandled by Jesus & Zinchencho
3. Bernardo struggling to escape from Gabriel Jesus and Zinchenko.pic.twitter.com/BmDX6n75P0
— • (@Beardamendi) April 1, 2018
Exhibit D - Silva gets badgered in the jacks
4. Bernardo getting harassed in the bogs. pic.twitter.com/A5vYizXTxG
— • (@Beardamendi) April 1, 2018
Exhibit E - Silva gets assaulted with rubber mallet by Benjamin Mendy
5. Bernardo getting beaten with a mallet while sitting alone. pic.twitter.com/t6hcNhNb2d
— • (@Beardamendi) April 1, 2018
Exhibit F - Silva gets his boots wrecked for the second time
6. Bernardo has his shoes spray painted black and tied to the roof, again. pic.twitter.com/2smUQ5iWQH
— • (@Beardamendi) April 1, 2018
Exhibit G - Silva gets egged in the jacks
7. Bernardo getting egged in the bogs. pic.twitter.com/GcwHlyyrem
— • (@Beardamendi) April 3, 2018
While dressing room pranks are the staple of teams up and down the league the sheer number of incidents involving Silva is curious. The 23-year-old arrived from Monaco in the summer and has done well in his first season in England, a winning goal against Chelsea among his biggest contributions to the team. Perhaps the gratuitous harassment of a whipping boy is good for squad morale but if I were Silva I'd definitely have something to say to HR.
