Manchester City captain Fernandinho shocked manager Pep Guardiola by saying Tuesday he planned to leave the English champions at the end of the season.
The 36-year-old former Brazil international, who has won four Premier League titles since joining City from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013, revealed his intentions at a pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg away to Atletico Madrid. Fernandinho, asked if he would like to extend his stay at the Etihad for another year, replied: “No, I want to play regularly.
I will go back to Brazil. I decided with my family, which is the most important for me.” Guardiola, alongside the midfielder at the press conference, was taken aback by his skipper’s announcement. “Oh! I didn’t know. You give me the news,” he said. “I didn’t hear it. We will see what happens. I don’t know what will happen. “He is so important. I’ll ask him,” the Spaniard insisted. Guardiola said Fernandinho had been “an incredible player for Manchester City”.
The manager added: “At the end of the season we talk, maybe it’s because of his family. I would love it. We will talk.” – ‘Honest and spontaneous’ – Fernandinho later took to social media to clarify his comments.—APP
