Manchester City captain Fernandinho is set to leave the club at the end of the season once his contract expires. The 36-year-old signed a one year extension at the club last year, and has now made his intentions for the future clear.
“No, I want to play regularly,” Fernandinho said about the future, before City’s tie with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
“I will go back to Brazil. I decided with my family, which is the most important for me.”
Pep Guardiola reacts to Fernandinho’s surprising decision to leave Man City
“I didn’t know it,” said the City boss, when asked about Fernandinho’s comments. “We will see what happens at the end of the season. We don’t know what’s going to happen.
“Fernandinho, I’ve said many times, is so important for me. We will see what happens but, anyway, I will talk to him.
“Maybe it’s a family decision or maybe he wants more minutes than he has had this season, I don’t know.
“I will speak to him, of course, but this kind of situation…at the end of the season we are going to talk.”
The Brazilian midfielder has won four Premier League titles, one FA Cup and six EFL Cups since joining City from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013. He has established himself as an iconic presence in City’s midfield, and is now being phased out and replaced by Rodri in the centre of the park.
And despite Pep’s comments, it seems likely that the end of the season will be the last time we see Fernandinho in a Manchester City shirt.
