Guardiola paid tribute to his fellow countryman ahead of City’s clash with Norwich City on Sunday, which will be Silva’s final game in the Premier League.
The boss believes El Mago is owed a debt of eternal gratitude for the major role he has played in the most successful period in the Club’s history, during which he has won every trophy on offer England.
BUY | EL MAGO: A DECADE OF MAGIC
“Extraordinary,” he said when asked to summarise Silva’s illustrious career.
“The amount of games, the huge quality in the games he played, the titles he helped win...he’s alongside five or six others who made this Club what it is now.
“And this club will always be grateful.”
With City guaranteed second place and Norwich already relegated, Sunday’s game is inconsequential for both sides in terms of their final position in the Premier League.
However, Guardiola reiterated the message that the performance is important ahead of our Champions League clash with Real Madrid and admitted it is a chance for players to prove they are ready for that crucial tie.
“It’s the last game at home. We want to win and we want to prepare the right way for Real Madrid,” Pep explained.
“We need to see how the players are ready for Madrid.
“I know them quite well but this game against Norwich and the way they train this week, we are going to pay attention to how prepared they are for Madrid.
“Every day will be an exam for me to see who is ready to play the game.
“Against Arsenal we were not ready. Against Watford [we were] a little bit better. But still, we need to improve.”
Though there is nothing to play for, City go into the final game capable of reaching a couple of notable milestones.
Three goals would see us reach 100 in the league this season, whilst we can also end the campaign with the most clean sheets.
Guardiola acknowledged both are something worth aiming for, but says such achievements are irrelevant when you have finished second as he again stated his desire to see more consistency from his team.
“It’s more important to win games,” he added. “If we win every game 1-0 we would be champions.
“We score lots of goals in general, but the job is to be better after 95 minutes than your opponent. When you lose nine, ten games it’s not enough to win the Premier League.
“You can’t lose many games right now and next season, it will be the same.”
