Pep Guardiola lifted the fog on the future of Bernardo Silva following a £59.2m offer and turned a curious statistic involving Saturday’s opponents, Crystal Palace, on its head.
The Times recently reported PSG tabled a £59.2m bid to sign Man City’s Bernardo Silva. Speculation over a move away is a common occurrence for Silva late in the summer windows.
Indeed, he was heavily linked with Barcelona in both 2020 and 2021. The Spanish side retains hopes of finally nabbing their man in 2022 but faces competition from PSG.
There were even claims the 28-year-old playmaker has agreed on terms with PSG. Guardiola has repeatedly insisted he will not force players who don’t want to be at Man City to stay.
So it came as no surprise to learn the first thing Guardiola was asked about in his Friday press conference was Silva.
Bernardo Silva’s future clarified
Providing an emphatic response to the transfer story, Guardiola said (via the Manchester Evening News): “He will stay here. Absolutely.
“We don’t have any phone call from any club regarding Bernardo Silva, so he is staying.”
The city is in the unusual position of trailing a team not named Liverpool in the season’s early going.
Dropped points against Newcastle in the pulsating 3-3 draw last weekend ensured Arsenal is the only team with a 100 percent record.
When the idea of a player not giving maximum effort with a world cup looming was posed, Guardiola was having none of it.
“I don’t think the players play thinking of the World Cup,” said Pep. “If they get injured they get injured, they could get injured walking on the street. It is what it is.”
Man City up against crazy statistic
City host Crystal Palace in a 3 pm kick-off on Saturday.
The Eagles have proved tricky foes for City in the past, securing two wins and two draws from their last nine league meetings.
Pep was made aware of a curious statistic regarding the two clubs and 3 pm kick-offs.
Guardiola’s side has lost just two of their last 54 matches that kicked off at 3 pm on a Saturday. Both defeats were at the hands of Palace.
When put to Guardiola, the Spaniard turned the statistic on its head, retorting losing just two of 54 is a fantastic achievement in itself.
“It’s a good record, to lose two out of 54 games,” replied Guardiola.
“That shows how good they are. With Hodgson and now Patrick Vieira. They’ve got resilience and an incredible amount of quality.
“They defend the 18-yard box really well, good set pieces, good transitions. They have weapons, experienced players in the middle.”
