(Reuters) -Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho said on Tuesday that he does not plan to sign a contract extension and remain at the Premier League club beyond this season, with manager Pep Guardiola left surprised by the Brazilian’s decision.
The 36-year-old, who has played more than 370 games in all competitions for City since joining them from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013 and helped the club capture four Premier League titles and six League Cups, signed a one-year extension last June.
Speaking ahead of City’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, Fernandinho said that he was not surprised with his limited game time in recent months.
“After nine years and maybe after the 2018-19 season when I changed my position could be one of the reasons,” Fernandinho told reporters.
“It was hard for me to recover it. With age, it is hard for me but I put myself in a position to try to help the team as I have always done.”
Fernandinho later tweeted that he had been “100% honest and spontaneous” in answering questions about his future.
“But anyone who knows me also knows that my greatest honesty is with Manchester City and my duties as team captain. My focus is 100% on winning all the titles we’re playing for and I will only talk about my future at the end of the season,” he said.
Guardiola said that he was surprised by the statement of Fernandinho, who plans to go back to his homeland, but hoped to persuade him to stay.
“I didn’t know. You give me the news. I didn’t hear it. We will see what happens. I don’t know what will happen. He is so important. I’ll ask him,” Guardiola said.
“The role he plays this season, I like the people who behave behind the scenes. I know what he’s done, behind me, he handles many of our players and stars for the benefit of the team. I praise him and he was here when I arrived.
“If a player wants to leave I understand completely… I don’t want anyone unsatisfied. For his age, for his family in Brazil. The club will help him.”
Defender Ruben Dias will travel with the squad to Spain after overcoming a hamstring injury last month.
“He had a training session and six weeks off. The fact he’s back is incredible and we have a big schedule until the end of the season. Everyone will be important,” Guardiola said.
City have a slender advantage heading into the second leg after Kevin De Bruyne’s 70th minute goal earned them a 1-0 victory in the first game.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru and Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
