Bernardo transfer admission sees Guardiola make clear his importance to Man City

Pep Guardiola has admitted he cannot be sure Bernardo Silva will remain at Manchester City - with Barcelona determined to sign him this summer.

Guardiola said he hoped Bernardo, who has expressed a desire to leave City in the past, will remain with the back-to-back Premier League champions, but admitted he cannot keep players who want to move on. Speaking at the launch of a charity friendly between City and his former club Barcelona in August, Guardiola was asked about Portugal midfielder Bernardo by Nou Camp president Joan Laporta.

When Guardiola promised to bring all of City's top players for the game at the Nou Camp on August 24, to raise money for ALS research, Laporta asked whether Bernardo would be part of the travelling squad. Guardiola laughed and said: "Bernardo Silva, and ten more!"

In a subsequent question and answer session, Guardiola was asked directly if Bernardo could join Barca this summer and gave a candid reply. "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."

Bernardo's hopes of moving to Barca are likely to depend on whether City's local rivals Manchester United can prise Frenkie De Jong away from the Spanish giants. Barca are holding out for £75million for their Dutch midfielder, a figure United are unwilling to meet, with the two clubs understood to be £10m apart in their valuation.

If Barca can reach an agreement with United, part of the funds from the sale of De Jong would go towards financing a deal to sign Bernardo.