'One of the hardest days of my career' - Man City's Ederson hits out after report he was 'affected' by praise for team-mate Stefan Ortega

Ederson was taken off injured in City's penultimate Premier League game of the season against Tottenham while his team were 1-0 up. After replacing him, Ortega pulled off an incredible save to prevent Son Heung-min from scoring an equaliser, allowing City to go on to claim the Premier League title in the final game of the season with a win against West Ham.

Ortega received immense praise for the stop and it was reported by The Athletic that Ederson was affected by the kind words aimed in his backup's direction. The mood is said to be a factor in the 30-year-old's desire to leave amid interest from Saudi Arabia, but he has taken to social media to deny the claims.

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."

Ortega has since signed a new contract with City, while Ederson could end up moving on. Coach Pep Guardiola admitted this week that he does not know if the Brazilian will stay beyond the summer transfer window, while it was reported that the club are interested in signing Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain to replace the shot stopper.

Ederson has two years left on his contract with the Premier League giants but he could end up leaving for the Middle East this summer. Al-Nassr have reportedly had an offer rejected by City, while Al-Ittihad are said to be interested in signing him.