Fernandinho surprised Pep Guardiola by revealing he will leave Manchester City this summer and go back to his native Brazil to finish his career.
The City captain, who turns 37 in May, will depart the Etihad Stadium at the end of his contract but had not told his manager when he went public with his decision.
Guardiola nevertheless paid tribute to the midfielder who he called a “true captain” and “an incredible player” for City and said he understood why the veteran wants to get first-team football. He immediately vowed to try to overcome Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night and reach the Champions League semi-finals for Fernandinho.
The Brazilian has made 373 appearances for City since joining from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013, winning four Premier League titles and a record five League Cups, but he has only started six league games this season after Rodri replaced him as the first-choice defensive midfielder.
“I want to play,” Fernandinho said. “I will go back to Brazil. I decided with my family, which is the most important thing for me.”
And Guardiola pledged: “I want the happiness of my players. Absolutely we are going to play for him and give him the best farewell moment, reaching again the semi-finals of the Champions League. I understand the family issues with a wife and kids, go back to Brazil, with the father and mother there. I am pretty sure the club is going to help him do what he wants.”
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Manchester City's Fernandinho smiles during a training session on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second leg against Atletico Madrid. AP -
Fernandinho during a training session at the City Football Academy. PA -
Fernandinho said he is unlikely to extend his contract at Manchester City. AP -
Manchester City's Kyle Walker, centre, during a training session at the City Football Academy. PA -
Manchester City's Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva takes part in a training session ahead of the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Atletico Madrid. AFP -
Manchester City's defender John Stones trains on Tuesday. AFP -
Manchester City's Bernardo Silva during training. Reuters -
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola oversees a training session at the City Football Academy. PA -
Kevin De Bruyne takes part in Manchester City's training session. AFP -
Manchester City's Nathan Ake during training on Tuesday. Reuters -
Oleksandr Zinchenko trains in Manchester. Reuters -
Manchester City's Jack Grealish during training. Reuters -
Raheem Sterling during training on Tuesday. Reuters -
Manchester City's Nathan Ake trains for the match against Atletico. Reuters -
Manchester City's Rodri, left, Raheem Sterling, centre, and Jack Grealish train on Tuesday. AFP -
Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan during training. Reuters -
Phil Foden and Jack Grealish take part in City's training session. AFP -
Bernardo Silva takes part in a training session in Manchester. AFP
Guardiola reacted to Fernandinho’s announcement by hoping he can change his mind. “It was a surprise,” he said. “You give me the news, I didn’t hear it. I will say to him: ‘What happened, are you leaving?’ Fernandinho, I said many times, is very important for me. We will see what happens. I will talk to him.”
While Fernandinho has played a lesser part on the pitch this season, he has been hugely influential behind the scenes.
City v Atletico ratings
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MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson - 6, Hardly touched the ball but kept his concentration throughout. Was confusingly booked for trying to help Matheus Cunha up. Reuters -
Joao Cancelo - 6, Had the first shot, which was deflected then cleared. Did well to track Joao Felix but had a lapse in concentration that allowed Renan Lodi to steal the ball in a dangerous area. EPA -
John Stones - 7, Held Felix up well when he threatened to get behind the City defence and moved the ball nicely. Hit a shot harmlessly over the crossbar. AFP -
Aymeric Laporte - 8, Was authoritative and made the tackle to deny Felix after Ilkay Gundogan’s loose pass was intercepted. Came agonisingly close to finding the top corner with a header and was dominant in his own box. AP -
Nathan Ake - 8, Showed brilliant awareness in his defending and did well to beat Marcos Llorente to an early ball over the top. Hardly put a foot wrong. EPA -
Kevin De Bruyne - 8, Showed plenty of ingenuity and did well to find Gundogan in the box early in the second half. Took his goal brilliantly after being slipped through by Phil Foden, but saw another shot blocked by Stefan Savic then struck over in the latter stages. EPA -
Rodri - 6, Some of his passing was sloppy, but the former Atleti midfielder came up with some decisive moments defensively, notably stopping Llorente’s counter attempt. AFP -
Ilkay Gundogan - 7, Popped up in some good positions but couldn’t quite find the breakthrough. Hit a shot high and wide but was then unlucky to see his shot deflected wide. EPA -
Riyad Mahrez - 7, Showed moments of creativity and delivered some crosses that came agonisingly close to finding a City head. Did well to get a header but couldn’t find the target. Reuters -
Bernardo Silva - 7, Made some inventive movements but struggled to impact the game in key areas in the first half, though he was unlucky to be tackled by Koke after getting into Atletico's box. EPA -
Raheem Sterling - 7, Made some great bursts forward and was involved most of the times that Atleti looked remotely stretched in the first period. Reuters -
SUBS: Jack Grealish (Gundogan, 68’) - 7, Won a free kick within seconds of coming on, which gave a taste of what he was in for as Atleti paid him plenty of attention. The Englishman did well to keep his composure. PA -
Gabriel Jesus (Sterling, 68’) - 5, Had some nearly moments, but the decisive one came when he received a silly booking for dissent that means he will miss the second leg. Getty -
Phil Foden (Mahrez, 68’) - 8, With his first touches after being introduced, it was the City academy graduate who unlocked Atleti’s defence, slipping the pass through for De Bruyne. In a superb performance, he also danced through the opposition defence to create another chance for De Bruyne. Reuters -
ATLETICO MADRID RATINGS: Jan Oblak - 6, His kicking was poor at times. Stopped De Bruyne’s free kick well then kicked it away, but there was nothing he could do for the goal. Reuters -
Sime Vrsaljko - 6, Did well to reach Cancelo’s deflected shot, then blocked De Bruyne’s effort. He initially dealt with City’s attacks impressively, but went too far by the end and conceded free kicks, getting booked for a challenge on Grealish. PA -
Stefan Savic - 7, Kept his shape well and ensured that City weren’t able to find an easy route through to goal. Did brilliantly to get across and redirect Gundogan’s shot wide, making another vital block to keep out De Bruyne’s attempt. Getty -
Felipe - 7, Mixed up his defending superbly in the first half, often sitting deep and then stepping out to win back possession. Blocked Rodri’s shot from range. Couldn’t keep up with De Bruyne when the Belgian was slipped through by Foden. EPA -
Reinildo Mandava - 7, Made some brilliant interventions to ensure City didn’t get through in the first half, including a tackle to stop Silva breaking forward and an interception after Mahrez had skipped past Lodi. However, he was nutmegged by Foden for the opener. PA -
Renan Lodi - 5, Caught out Cancelo to steal the ball in a dangerous area but couldn’t find Antoine Griezmann. If there was anybody in Atleti’s back five who looked like a weak link defensively it was him. Committed the foul for De Bruyne’s free kick attempt. PA -
Marcos Llorente - 5, Helped out defensively but struggled to make any sort of attacking impact, which was partly down to impressive play from Ake. Needlessly strayed offside when a few potential openings arrived. Sent a weak shot straight into Ederson’s arms. AP -
Geoffrey Kondogbia - 6, Showed plenty of discipline and awareness in the first half, meaning he was often in the perfect position to help out his defence. Continued to make things difficult in the second period. AP -
Koke - 7, Very disciplined and did well to avoid conceding a penalty when tackling Silva in his own box. Also did a good job of breaking up the play. EPA -
Joao Felix - 7, Was Atleti’s main outlet and did well to trouble the City defence at all considering how isolated he often found himself. Dropped deeper down the left in the second period and did a good defensive job. PA -
Antoine Griezmann - 6, Was largely anonymous in the first half but raced forward for a counter early in the second. Filled in well to help Atleti’s defensive shape. EPA -
SUBS: Rodrigo De Paul (Koke, 60’) - 4, Did well to stop De Bruyne breaking forward shortly after coming on. Was booked for a late tackle on Grealish and some his passing was sloppy. EPA -
Angel Correa (Griezmann, 60’) - 4, It was easy to forget the Argentine was on the pitch until he was booked for kicking the ball at Grealish’s face when the Englishman was on the floor. Offered very little down the right. AFP -
Matheus Cunha (Llorente, 60’) - 5, Made a good run forward before being dispossessed in the corner. Looked frustrated at times that things weren’t happening around him. EPA -
Thomas Lemar (Felix, 81’) – N/R, Put in some good work but couldn’t capitalise after Cancelo slipped. AFP
He explained: “I like the types of persons who behave behind the scenes. I know what he has done, behind me, how he handles many of the biggest stars we have for the benefit of the team. This is a real captain. That is why I praise him. We know each other well. He is always from day one an incredible football player for Manchester City with the trophies [won] and the minutes [played]. There are things that nobody knows but I know exactly.”
City have welcomed Ruben Dias back into the squad after a hamstring injury but Guardiola said the centre-back, who has had a solitary training session after six weeks out, will not start tonight. “It is a bit premature but the fact he is back is incredible. Everyone will be important with the tight schedule we have.”
City have a 1-0 lead after the first leg in which Atletico did not register a shot. Guardiola expects a different match. “It won’t be anything like last week,” he said. “They are playing at home with their fans behind them. When they play knockout games at the [Vicente] Calderon and now the Wanda [Metropolitano] they have some very exciting moments. There will be moments when they are so aggressive and create problems but we travel with an intention to win the game.”
Guardiola had described Atletico’s tactics at the Etihad Stadium as 5-5-0 and referred to them as “prehistory” in one interview, drawing a firm rebuttal from Diego Simeone.
“I’ve never talked down to a colleague of mine or talked badly,” said the Atletico manager. “Like my dad said: ‘The fish dies through the mouth’. It's a saying. Talk is free and everybody can talk but I don't talk badly of colleagues and we all have our opinions.”
