“He is one of the greatest players this club has had”- Guardiola confident of Manchester City ace extending his contract

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he is confident of Fernandinho staying at the club.

The Brazilian international has been a key player for City since joining the club from Shakhtar Donetsk, featuring in 295 matches across all competitions with 23 goals and 25 assists to his name. This season, the 34-year-old became a regular starter under Guardiola following Aymeric Laporte’s injury and has done pretty well in the centre-back role so far.

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Fernandinho’s current contract expires next summer and he’s yet to sign a new one. Guardiola said that he wants the Brazilian to stay and is confident that he will. As quoted by Goal.com, the Manchester City manager said: “Of course I want him to stay. I am so confident [he’ll stay] and I am so delighted about our three and a half years together. He does not have to convince me to stay longer. He convinced me on day one, three and a half years ago when we started to work together.

“He doesn’t need to do anything special to convince me. It is just [a matter of] his age, his desire and how he is going to finish the season. Many, many things. He knows exactly the opinion we have about him in this club over many, many years. He is one of the greatest players this club has had in its whole history.”

Fernandinho has done pretty well as a centre-back this season so far but he’ll most likely lose his place in the starting lineup once Laporte is back to full fitness. Given how well Rodri’s doing, it’s quite unlikely that he will start as a midfielder.

Fernandinho might have to leave Manchester City if he wants more first-team football but the club might prefer to see him extend his contract because he’ll be a very suitable backup option as a midfielder and a defender.

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