David Silva hailed Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola as a "fantastic human" for the understanding he showed in allowing the midfielder to take time off last season following the premature birth of his son.
Silva missed several City matches around the turn of the year in order to travel home to spend time with family after his new-born son Mateo fell seriously ill.
Although it was a difficult moment in his life, Silva was given the freedom to do whatever he felt he needed to by Guardiola, missing some key matches as a result.
And, according to Silva, that understanding shows the kind of person Guardiola is.
"Guardiola made it very easy for me," Silva told the Sun. "He said: 'whatever you need, you can have it.'
"That's the way he has always been. He has made a lot of big favours to me. I will always appreciate his help.
"I witnessed the human instincts of Pep and I can tell you that for him there are more important things in life than football." on Pep in this morning's Media Watch! July 28, 2018
"He is more than a manager to me, he is a fantastic human being, not only because people have seen what he has done for me. He's a fantastic person.
"When you have family and football in the same balance, sometimes you have to prioritise the family and Guardiola understood that very well.
"I am going to continue performing the same as I have been doing all this time. I give 100 per cent."
After the initial worries, Mateo is now doing better, but Silva acknowledges it was the most difficult period of his life.
"They were very hard times, the toughest months of my life," he added.
"It was the fear of the unknown. Everything was okay, but they said in a week's time they didn't know. It scared me to death.
"When you are travelling abroad to see your family, you can't be 100 per cent concentrated on your job or profession with a problem like this. The travelling to and from Spain was a very difficult time.
"Mateo is very good at the moment and thank God everything is okay now.
"I have to keep an eye on him all the time. The doctors are doing different tests, but fingers crossed everything is okay. I am very happy and I will be 100 per cent ready for the new season."
‘Maybe I’ll be signed by Wrexham, who knows? English football would suit me – if an offer came, I wouldn’t think twice, I’d go immediately’ Euro 2024 cult hero reveals his UK dream
‘Managing Leeds? It was an option that appeared, but it wasn’t the right timing. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to leave the club I was at mid-season’: Premier League boss admits to turning down opportunity to replace Jesse Marsch in 2023
