Pep Guardiola coy on Bernardo Silva’s Manchester City future following recent interview comments

Pep Guardiola has remained tight-lipped on the future of Bernardo Silva beyond this season, after the Manchester City midfielder once again expressed a desire to play elsewhere.

The 28 year-old, who has made 275 appearances and won 11 pieces of silverware since his transfer from AS Monaco in 2017, has been continuously linked with a possible move away from the Etihad Stadium.

Barcelona and PSG have both previously shown an interest in the midfielder, with the La Liga club having tried once again to sign the Portugal international during the summer transfer window.

Silva’s desire to play elsewhere in Europe is well documented, with the City star having openly discussed his future in numerous interviews over the past 18 months.

Most recently the four-time Premier League winner spoke with Portuguese newspaper Record, where he seemingly reiterated his hopes of playing elsewhere.

“I won’t hide that my goal in recent years, if something good happens elsewhere, will probably be to move to a new project,” said Silva.

“Going into a new project at the age of 29, I’ll only finish this contract probably at 34. If you ask me: what did you think 10 years ago? My goal was to return to Benfica at the age of 32 at the most. What do I think today? It depends on what happens next summer.”

Manchester City have the opportunity to close the gap to league leaders Arsenal to five points against Chelsea on Thursday evening, with the Sky Blues’ title defence entering a challenging period.

Pep Guardiola’s side dropped points for a second successive home game on New Year’s Eve and face Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham in their next three league matches.

Ahead of Thursday’s clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Guardiola remained tight-lipped on the future of Bernardo and praised the recent performances of the 28 year-old.

“He’s a key player, so important on and off the pitch. A guy who can talk, always a nice conversation always you learn about his humanity, his vision for the club.”

“He’s an incredible player against top sides, in decisive games he’s always there. Nothing changed about his future.”

Silva is currently contracted at the Etihad Stadium until 2025.