Pep Guardiola expects Bernardo Silva to remain at Manchester City amid interest from Barcelona, but he refused to rule out a move as he spoke alongside Barca president Joan Laporta.
Guardiola was in Barcelona to announce a friendly between his former club and City, who will play a charity match on August 24 at the Nou Camp to raise funds for ALS research. After the announcement, Guardiola took questions alongside Laporta, with the Spanish press keen to ask both men about reports linking Bernardo to Barca.
Before they could ask, though, when Guardiola promised to bring all of City's top players for the game, Laporta cheekily asked whether Bernardo would be part of the squad.
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In reply, Guardiola laughed and said: "Bernardo Silva, and ten more."
In the question and answer session, Guardiola was asked explicitly if Bernardo could join Barcelona in the summer transfer window.
"Two clubs like Barcelona and Manchester City, the names are varied, there's a lot of them," he said.
"Right now I think Bernardo will continue with us. Our goal, as a club, is for him to stay with us, but I have always said I don't want players that don't want to be with us. But Bernardo is important and I think he will stay. It's true he could be with Barca, I don't know what will happen."
Laporta was then asked the same question, and he kept his cards close to his chest despite effectively confirming their interest in City's Portuguese playmaker.
"I like to include the best players in Barca, we're working hard to improve our team," he answered.
"The people responsible for that are talking about players, and beyond having a bit of a joke, I don't think this is the right moment. We're working for the best team next season.
"Against Manchester City will be a great match, they'll come with all their players put on a great show. Beyond the cause, it will be a great match. We've got friends at City, we have for a long time, this won't be a friendly match! It will be a good match like it should be."
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