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‘I think he will stay’ – Pundit says Man City will keep ‘fantastic’ 27 y/o for one more season

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Bernardo Silva wanted out of Manchester City last summer but was convinced to stay by Pep Guardiola and went on to impress over the course of the campaign, scoring 13 goals with seven assists from 50 games in midfield.

The 27-year-old is still keen to leave amid interest from Barcelona this summer, but Kevin Campbell questions how the Catalan giants will be able to afford him.

Barcelona racked up over €1bn (£850m) of debt after years of overspending and underselling, not to mention the pandemic cutting their revenue significantly, so they cut wages, sold players, took out a loan and sold off broadcasting rights.

They’ve spent just £62m in the last three transfer windows and made back £81m in sales. This summer, Barcelona signed two players on a free transfer and are negotiating paying for transfer targets in monthly installments, so Campbell is right to question how they can afford Silva.

He told Football Insider: “Bernardo Silva wanted to leave last season but it couldn’t get done. He stayed and had a fantastic season.

“Would they like to keep Bernardo Silva for one more season? I’m sure.

“Given Barcelona’s financial situation, Man City will fancy their chances of holding onto him for another season.

“They still haven’t sorted Raphinha out and (Robert) Lewandowski, so how are they going to pay for them?

“It is going to be interesting to see. I think Bernardo Silva will stay at City for another season.”

Silva would cost Barca £80m to sign this summer, let alone £150k-per-week in wages, so they might have to turn their attentions elsewhere.

In other news, Alan Hutton says Pep Guardiola would prefer to keep Riyad Mahrez at Man City

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.