This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Vincent Kompany has stated that his former teammate Bernardo Silva could win the Ballon d'Or one day but will struggle to do so because of other "PR machines" in football.

What did he say?

The former Manchester City captain certainly knows talent when he sees it, having played amongst some of the Premier League's best down the years. Now, Kompany has hailed Silva as one of those many players and even stated he could win one of the most prestigious prizes in football.

The Anderlecht player-manager has, however, touched on how he will struggle to officially win the award because of his kind and humble nature.

Kompany wrote in his book (as quoted by Manchester Evening News): "Could he one day win the Ballon d'Or? Of course. He could achieve anything but the problem for Bernardo is that he's so humble.

"He'll always drop a couple of places in the contenders' list just because of that.

"There will always be guys that are better at self-promotion and have better PR machines around them."

Not many better

Silva signed for City two seasons ago for £43m and he has since become an integral part of Pep Guardiola's dominance over English football. Last season, the former Monaco man scored seven times and provided seven assists as City defended the Premier League title.

The Citizens secured an unprecedented domestic treble last campaign and Silva's helping hand in this earned him a spot on the Ballon d'Or shortlist. Also, the winger would play five times and score once as Portugal registered another trophy in the UEFA Nations League.

However, Silva is up against the formidable forces of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the running for the award. As you would expect, Silva will go into the ceremony in December having less of a status than those two PR titans.

In the PR game, Silva is a puppy barking at a Rottweiler.

On the pitch, though, he battles with the very best on any field and deserves more credit.