That's because you're a good, loyal Manchester City fan who's loved watching Silva for 10 years.
Messi on the decline got 31 goals and 27 assists last season playing mostly as an attacking midfielder, and if Silva had the ability to do half of that at his peak, he would have done. And before someone chimes in with Silva's game not being about goals and assists, Messi has everything else as well as the goals and assists.
We will always love Merlin for what he did here, and he came at a time when a lot of players weren't interested. He helped build the club into the global superpower it is now, it's not a slight against him to acknowledge he's simply never been close to the level of the greatest player of all time.