Man City squad send one player to speak to Pep Guardiola whenever they want to request a day off

Kyle Walker revealed that the Manchester City squad always send Bernardo Silva whenever they want a day off.

Silva has been with the club since 2017 and made 358 appearances for the club, winning six Premier League titles.

He has regularly been linked with moves away to Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain but has been always been convinced to stay by Pep Guardiola, who adores him as a player and a person.

The pair have a brilliant relationship and last year, City captain Walker revealed that the Portugal international is regularly used as the middle man when the squad has requests.

Speaking in a press conference, Walker said: "Bernardo Silva has such a good relationship with the manager that when we want days off , we ask him to go and talk to Pep."

Both Walker and Silva form part of City's five-man leadership group, alongside Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias and Rodri.

Image: Kyle Walker

After a vote from teammates, all five are essentially captains of the club - though Walker is the permanent skipper.

There could be a rethink for this season though, after former captain Ilkay Gundogan returned on a free transfer following a year at Barcelona.

Image: Getty

Silva committed himself to City by signing a new contract until 2026 in August last year but links to Barca have persisted - particularly with claims that the deal includes a £50 million release clause.

Yet while Silva was playing for Portugal at Euro 2024, Guardiola reiterated that there had been no contact from his former club regarding the former Monaco man.

“There has been a lot of talk for years, but no one has called us," Guardiola said at the Legends charity golf tournament.

"I hope he stays (at Manchester City). He is a fundamental player for us, a gem of a player, as a person.

“If you want a player, you have to call him, and it hasn’t happened.”