It’s not a secret that Bernardo Silva has wanted out of Manchester City the last two summers, having pushed hard for a Barcelona move behind the scenes in 2021 before being convinced to stay by Pep Guardiola.
The Man City manager made a public statement insisting the 27-year-old would not be sold in 2022 either, but Luis Miguelsanz of Sport believes he’s still trying to join the Catalans.
Where will Manchester City finish in the Premier League this season?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th or lower
City paid £43m to sign Silva from AS Monaco in 2017, so they’re unlikely to let him go for less than that figure this summer. Barcelona aren’t even able to register their new signings until they’ve balanced the books, so the Catalans could struggle to fund Silva’s transfer.
The sale of Frenkie De Jong is meant to generate the money to sign Silva, but Paris Saint-Germain could hijack the deal as they’ve shown an interest and could meet City’s demands without issue. It just remains to be seen whether the Portuguese international is as receptive to join PSG.
Silva may be angling only for a Barcelona move, so the Parisian’s attempts to procure his signature could fail. Nevertheless, City may need to take the Catalans’ interest serious based on latest reports.
Barcelona seem unable to pay de Jong the £17m back pay they owe him. If they don’t sell de Jong then they still have a huge salary on their books. Finding £70m or so to buy Silva and then find his salary looks a step beyond them.
Bernado hasn’t asked to join Barca. He wanted to leave a couple of seasons ago due to travel restriction with Covid stopping him from seeing family. He is now happy to stay.
This story much like the Aguero to Real Madrid story is wheeled out every transfer window.
Barca can’t even play their current players or register new ones without selling .Its a non story dreamt up by the Barca sporting papers.