‘Grumpy’ Pep Guardiola wants Bernardo Silva to stay at Manchester City for life

Pep Guardiola said on Friday he was “grumpy” with Bernardo Silva and admitted he was in the dark about his Manchester City captain’s future.

The Portuguese midfielder is in the final year of his contract with Etihad and his future has been the subject of intense speculation.

City’s assistant manager Pep Lijnders appeared to confirm the 31-year-old’s likely departure while carrying out media duties on behalf of manager Guardiola following last week’s 4-0 FA Cup win over Liverpool.

“Every good story comes to an end, and I hope he enjoys these last few months – because it’s only six weeks – and gets a good send-off,” he said.

But Guardiola, speaking to reporters ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match against Chelsea, said he was not aware of Silva’s plans.

“I’m so grumpy at Bernardo because a month ago I said, ‘If you make a decision, I have to be the first to know,’” the city boss said.

“And he hasn’t said anything to me yet, so I think the right person has to be Bernardo. He didn’t tell me, so I don’t know what’s going on,” he added.

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Silva has made 450 appearances for City since joining from Monaco in 2017, winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League.

«I would love it if he could stay here and finish his career,» Guardiola said.

«I don’t know. He’s going to decide what he’s going to decide, announce to the club, I think, announce to all of you – the media, the fans and everyone. It’s his decision. But it’s been an incredible, incredible signing. The numbers, the minutes and the titles. Especially in the bad moments. I justify, and I define the players in the bad moments when everything is difficult, how they always step up and say: ‘I’m here to help,'» he added.

City, who are chasing a domestic treble after winning the League Cup last month, are second in the Premier League, nine points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.

The top two will face each other in Manchester on April 19 in a potential title decider.

«We need to win a lot of points. We were not consistent enough during the season. We lost points that we should have taken and that is why we are in the position where we cannot do it differently now,» Guardiola concluded.

Published on April 10, 2026