Bernardo Silva has been backed to become the next winner of the Ballon d'Or after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo retire.
Messi and Ronaldo have won the prestigious award recognising the best player in the world for 10 out of the last 11 seasons, with Real Madrid's Luka Modric breaking their dominance in 2018.
And Bernardo could be the next winner of the famous trophy, according to former Portugal international Paulo Futre.
Bernardo has had an excellent two seasons since joining from Monaco in 2017, and took advantage of Kevin de Bruyne's injury problems last year to establish himself as one of the first names on Manchester City's teamsheet.
The popular 24-year-old played 51 times in all competitions last season, scoring 13 times with 14 assists, and is contracted at City until 2025.
According to Futre, Bernardo's importance to City will help him make the step up to become the next best player in the world.
He told Omnisport: “I think Bernardo will be the next star, or he will be when Ronaldo and Messi start to decline.
“I think Bernardo will be one of those who will be ready to win the Ballon d’Or, because he is a player with a lot of responsibility in a great team like Manchester City.”
Bernardo is not among the favourites to win the award next season, though, with Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk tipped as an early contender to beat Messi and Ronaldo.
