The city trip to Monaco in the Champions League this week will bring special memories for a particular Pep Guardiola team member in particular.
Bernardo Silva began his career in the Benfica of the Boyhood club before joining an exciting project that takes place in the Principality in front of the French coast.
Before 414 appearances and 18 main trophies to date in a brilliant career in the city, our game creator called Stade Louis II, where the city faces the Adi Hutter team on Wednesday on Wednesday, home for three seasons in total.
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That included a 2016/17 special campaign when Monaco was crowned French champion and reached the UEFA Champions League semifinals.
In that European race, they met Pep Guardiola and City in a 16 -draw round that is now considered a classic of all time.
Guardiola was in his first season in City and building for the domestic domain that he would follow, but he was not in his place at this time.
Meanwhile, Monaco was a mixture of prodigiously talented young and experienced professionals.
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In both legs, it ended 6-6 in conjunction with Monaco progressing in the rule of visiting objectives.
Eight of those 12 goals arrived in a first frantic game in Etihad, when the city fans saw for the first time the man who is now our club captain.
The visitors settled with Captain Radamel Falcao leading the line ahead of Bernardo, Thomas Lemar and a teenager Kylian Mbappe.
It is likely that only Falcao was well known among fans of the city in advance, but all that line of advance would make everyone talk later.
Bernardo himself was all we expect during his eight more years in Manchester.
A buzzing and tireless presence outside the ball and a quiet and technically exceptional dribbler and pin, anyone who looked could see how perfectly adapted to PEP football.
Although he did not score, No.10 he was amazed at Etihad with a particular moment of brilliance, dancing away from Leroy Sane and then Nutmegging Yaya Toure before shooting a perfect ball on the path of Falcao.
The moment left a lasting impression not only in the faithful of the city in the Etihad, but also in the victim itself.
Speaking earlier this year in a video that reflected his early association with City, Bernardo said: “I remember this moment because Yaya continued to punish me when I joined this.
“I tried (remember when we were teammates), but I didn’t let me talk about it!”
City persevered and left 5-3 winners at night through the clinical finish and a supreme sample of resilience.
However, respect for Bernardo was not full, with the city players and the staff quickly to congratulate him for an performance that led us directly to the advantage.
A 3-1 defeat in Monaco three weeks later meant that the draw was the end of the city’s continental campaign, but a score was established for the future.
“Those two games changed the course of my career,” he said.
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“I saw Pep outside in the mixed area where we were both giving interviews and he approached me and said: ‘Congratulations on the game’.
“I don’t remember the exact words, but I remember that he told me he was really impressed.
“I also remember that the day after my agent called me and told me they were really impressed. I said Wow!
“It was a very good experience (playing in Etihad) and who knew it was the first time of many, a lot, many games.
“It was that tie that made me want to play in the Premier League and at the end of the season, City asked me if I wanted to come, so it was a dream come true, and it was an easy answer.”
Before Wednesday, that two -legged draw is still the only competitive meetings between City and Monaco.
Without a doubt, this third installment will bring floods of memories for Bernardo from the 22 -year version of himself that he dreamed of the race that he has since built in Manchester.