Pep Guardiola expressed his admiration for Bernardo Silva and encouraged him to remain at Manchester City following his impressive performance in the FA Cup.
FA Cup holders City advanced to the semi-finals of the competition following their 2-0 victory over Newcastle at the Etihad on Saturday.
Two deflected goals from Silva secured their passage into the next round, and with the 29-year-old likely to be linked with a summer transfer, manager Guardiola has called on the playmaker to stay put.
Pep Guardiola (Via Premier League/Twitter)
After the match, Guardiola said: “This team, this club, has something special, it’s incredible. I know we play to win the finals, but to win it, you have to win the earlier rounds. We won four Carabao Cup finals in a row and now we’re in six FA Cup semi-finals in a row.
To run and play the way they did is incredible, congratulations to the team, no one has done that before. We played really well, we were so safe with the ball. Mateo (Kovacic), Rodri and Bernardo kept the ball so well.
The game was really good. You see us when we come back every three days, three days, three days, three days.”
On Silva, he added: “Everybody loves him and we want him. He’s really important for him to stay with us.”
Bernardo Silva (Via Getty Images)
Guardiola’s City are aiming for back-to-back trebles after winning the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup last season – and they are in the running to secure that prestigious footballing triumvirate this term, too.
If they want to continue to be successful, keeping Silva – whose City contract runs until 2026 – will be key. He has previously been linked with Paris Saint-Germain.
Next up for third-placed City is a huge clash with top of the table Arsenal – who are just a point ahead of them – at the Etihad on March 31. They will face their FA Cup semi-final opponent on either April 20 or 21 at Wembley.
