Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy reveals how Bernardo Silva’s exit came as a shock and sparked Monaco exodus

BENJAMIN MENDY has revealed Bernardo Silva kept his Monaco team-mates in the dark before shocking them with his Manchester City switch.

The Citizens duo, Kylian Mbappe, and Tiemoue Bakayoko made up fake rumours about themselves for fun after a stunning title-winning season.

Rex Features

Rex Features

And Silva, the only one to keep his plans a secret, stunned his mates by sending them a picture of himself holding a Sky Blues jersey – sparking a mass exodus.

Mendy told The Telegraph: “We started to have this game where we’d be asking each other, ‘So where are you going then?’

“And everyone would lie. Some would say, ‘Oh, I’m going to Chelsea me’, others would go, ‘No, no, I’m off to Paris Saint-Germain’. Everyone was making up these stories.

“But when the calls came in and we all did go off to sign for other clubs, we’d agreed beforehand that we’d send each other Whatsapp pictures of ourselves at the point of signing, with the shirt aloft.

“Bernardo ended up being the first one. The rest of us were on holiday when we suddenly got this round robin photo from him signing for Manchester City, which was a surprise because he was the only one who had never said where he was going or what his plans were!

“And then he knocked us all over with that picture – ‘I’ve done it, here I am’. After that it was like dominoes falling.”

Getty Images

Reuters

Mendy has hit the ground running at City – playing a key role in firing his new side to the top of the table.

And he aimed a cheeky jibe at EA Sports, claiming they should have watched him in action before rating him a lowly 78 on Fifa.

Getty

Getty

Mendy added: “Maybe I’m 82, 83 now.

“Some friends called me up and said, ‘Look at the face you’re pulling, you look like Emile Heskey!’”