Blog

The Brazilian shot-stopper has been a crucial cog in Pep Guardiola’s title-consuming machine in recent years, having arrived from Benfica for around £33million in 2017, replacing Claudio Bravo.

He is widely regarded as the best ball-playing goalkeeper in the world, and has stepped into Manuel Neuer’s gloves as the undisputed sweeper-keeper king.

Yet he has been linked with a move to Al-Ittihad and the Saudi Pro League despite his status in the game, with Man City setting a price of £50m.

The Athletic reported earlier this week Ederson was ‘affected’ by the praise his team-mate Stefan Ortega garnered for his world class stop against Son Heung-min in a crucial Premier League run-in trip to Tottenham.

Ederson took to social media to label the report ‘completely false’ and insist he’s ‘fully focused’ on the upcoming season.

He wrote in a post on Instagram: ‘I would like to clarify that the note published by The Athletic yesterday, referring to my alleged dissatisfaction with a co-worker, is completely false.

‘The alleged day reported was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and, consequently, from representing my country in the Copa América.

‘At the time of the injury, my only thought was to continue in the match, defending City in the fight for the title we had won, but the emotion of the match would be greater than the reality and, inevitably, I would not be able to continue as I would have liked due to the damage it caused, completely blocking my field of vision.

‘I remain focused on preparing for the season.’

Ederson’s wife also responded to the report, posting on Instagram: ‘Get better information first, this is totally fake news.’

German goalkeeper Ortega understandably drew plaudits for his heroics against Tottenham, though some fans appeared to suggest that Ederson himself might not have made the stop – something which has seemingly irked the Brazilian.

Pep Guardiola provided an update on Ederson’s future after his side’s 4-3 pre-season friendly defeat against Celtic on Wednesday.

‘I’d like him to stay but it depends on other clubs,’ Guardiola said. ‘I don’t know the situation.

‘There have been no contacts in the last days. It’s a question of training, being with us until the transfer window finishes and we’ll see.’

Interest from the Saudi Pro League in City’s goalkeeper has been intense in recent months, with Al-Nassr initially hopeful of luring the Brazilian away from the Etihad Stadium.

Their offer of £25million fell way below City’s valuation but Al-Ittihad have been given enough encouragement to open dialogue with the Premier League champions.

He is believed to be valued at somewhere nearer £50m and Al-Ittihad are ready to test that resolve for what would be a major coup for the SPL.