This is a crucial point. The Buddha never explicitly stated ‘there is no self’ (natthattā). In fact, when directly questioned about the existence or non-existence of self, he often maintained noble silence. 

If, Ānanda, when asked ‘Is there a self?’ I had answered ‘There is a self,’ I would have been siding with those ascetics and brahmins who are eternalists. And if, when asked ‘Is there no self?’ I had answered ‘There is no self,’ I would have been siding with those ascetics and brahmins who are annihilationists .” 

The Buddha, see SN 44.10

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