Pep still unsure of Silva's decision to leave City
Pep Guardiola was asked about Bernardo Silva's Manchester City future ahead of facing Chelsea, and he is unsure if the midfielder will stay.
Silva has repeatedly been linked with a return to his boyhood club Benfica in recent years, with Barcelona touted as another landing spot for the midfielder.
The 31-year-old has been with City for almost nine years, winning 15 major trophies in that time including six Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League in 2023.
But his contract with the Citizens expires at the end of the season and assistant manager Pep Lijnders suggested he was likely to depart earlier this week, saying: "Every good story comes to an end."
Guardiola, though, is yet to hear anything from the Portugal international.
"I'm so grumpy with Bernardo because a month ago, I said, 'If you make a decision I have to be the first to know', and he didn't say anything to me yet," the City boss said.
"I think the proper one [to say] must be Bernardo. I don't know if he has already decided. I said, jokingly, 'tell me, I deserve it', but he didn't tell me so, I don't know what's going on."
But when asked about his decision to make Silva captain after the departure of Kevin De Bruyne last summer, Guardiola said: "It was the best decision I made this season. The previous ones [captains] have been good, so I can't say he's better than the other ones."
His long-term future may not be decided yet, but Silva could make his 297th Premier League appearance this weekend.
That would see him set a new competition record by a Portuguese player, surpassing Luis Boa Morte's 296. Silva also scored against West Ham United prior to the international break, and he could net in back-to-back league games for the first time since March 2023.
Ahead of this weekend's trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, City has little margin for error in the title race as it trails Arsenal by nine points, but it does have a game in hand and will host the Gunners next week.
City has won 28 of its past 31 Premier League games in the month of April, losing only once.
Asked what City must do to win the title, Guardiola said: "Win every single game. We need to do all of them, otherwise it will not give us a chance to do it.
"We were not consistent enough during the season, we dropped points that we should have taken and that's why we are in the position now, where we cannot do it any differently."




































