I love Jack a lot – Bernardo Silva praises Man City team-mate Jack Grealish

Portugal star Bernardo Silva loves his Manchester City teammate Jack Grealish and has been joking with the England striker during the World Cup about how many fouls he gets.

City stars Phil Foden, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips and Grealish are part of Gareth Southgate’s team in Qatar, where they will face defending champions France in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

The winners of that clash will face Morocco or Portugal in the semi-finals, who beat Switzerland by six in the round of 16 final tie and secured progress in style.

Silva was understandably delighted with the win which came days after Grealish said he was probably the best he had ever played with, saying “it has changed the way I look at football.”

“I love him too!” said the Portuguese when he found out about those comments. “I also love Jack very much, he is a great guy.

“The first season is never easy. It was not easy for me. When I arrived I didn’t play much and people who play for other clubs think that one day if I play for Man City I’m going to score 20 goals, give 30 assists… It doesn’t work like that.

“The way Jack works for the team, the way he attracts players and then creates space for other players, he has been helping us a lot, he is improving a lot and I think he will be great for Man City in the years to come. ”

When Silva was approached about a possible semi-final clash with England, he said: “It would be difficult, to be honest, but there is also France.

“I wish the Man City guys the best. I honestly don’t want to play against them.”

There are a number of reasons to fear England, with Silva joking about Grealish’s ability to foul between his weapons.

“I keep texting Jack,” she said. “The other game they brought in and I was filming, and I said to Ruben (Dias), ‘How many fouls do you think Jack is going to commit in this game in 25 minutes?’

“Rubén said nine, I said seven. I was closer, he didn’t get as much.

“But I’m happy for Jack, also for Phil and the Man City players because they’re doing quite well for England.”

The feeling is certainly mutual and Grealish couldn’t help but be impressed by Portugal’s victory against Switzerland, when Cristiano Ronaldo’s 21-year-old replacement Goncalo Ramos scored his first start with a hat-trick.

“Great player, very young, great talent,” Silva said of Ramos. “He works a lot.

“He’s also a good guy and it’s good to know that you have players who think about the team. He is one of those.

“His movement, the way he presses, was great for us tonight.”