Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho has been speaking about his contract expiration at the Etihad and a potential move to boyhood Brazilian club Athletico Paranaense.
The 36-year-old has just three months left on his deal after penning a 12-month extension last year. He has started just six Premier League games this season, taking the captain’s armband on each occasion.
Fernandinho has played more than 250 games for City but many deem it unlikely that he will enter a 10th season with the club. He’s been linked with a return to his native country with many outfits said to be interested in acquiring his services for the final few years of his career.
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One of those is former club Athletico Paranaense, located in southern Brazil, who have enjoyed success in recent years. The top-flight club won the country’s premier cup competition last year after winning the Copa Sudamericana - South America’s equivalent of the Europa League - in 2018 and 2021.
During a return to hometown state Parana, Fernandinho was asked about a possible return to Paranaense. He told Globoplay : “My contract ends now in June, at the end of the season.
“As happened last year, we’ll probably have a family conversation to define the future, what it will be for us. So far my agent has not passed me anything. Even because we are already in March, nothing was passed to me.”
He added: “But obviously if Athletico look for him, and as happened last year, we will talk without any problem. Mystery in the soap opera is good, why wouldn’t it be in real life?”
It seems his mother has already expressed what she would ultimately like to see happen. She said: “I still do not know. There’s nothing resolved. But we hope he goes to Athletico, if he comes.”
Since arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk for £36m in 2013, Fernandinho has won four Premier League titles, an FA Cup and six League Cups.
He has been an invaluable asset for Pep Guardiola during his tenure, being an ever-present, reliable figure in the centre of midfield. But with Rodri seemingly now first choice, City may look at Fernandinho's age and wonder how much more they can extract from him and his reported £150,000 weekly wage as the club set their sights on other targets.
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