Manchester City star Bernardo Silva during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City at London Stadium on August 07, 2022 in London, England.

Manchester City star Bernardo Silva ‘desperate’ to join Barcelona – with one obstacle now sorted ahead of move: report

August 1, 2023 Sports 4 Views

Manchester City could lose Bernardo Silva in the coming weeks with the Portuguese “desperate” to move to Barcelona.

The Treble winners have already lost their captain and Pep Guardiola’s first-ever signing at the Etihad Stadium, Ilkay Gundogan, to the La Liga champions, this summer – with Guardiola replacing the German with Mateo Kovacic.

But with more sales expected in the coming weeks – Kyle Walker, Joao Cancelo and Aymeric Laporte are all rumoured to be heading for the exit door – Barcelona may seize the opportunity to snatch another Manchester City star.

Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, arrives at the stadium prior to the UEFA Champions League 2022/23 final match between FC Internazionale and Manchester City FC at Atatuerk Olympic Stadium on June 10, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. — Pep Guardiola is reshaping his City squad this summer (Image credit: Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)

Spanish outlet Diario Sport claims that Silva is “desperate” for the move to Barcelona – and though the transfer is still a way off, one obstacle appears to have been removed.

Barça’s financial woes have been well documented, with the club struggling to complete big-money transfers of late. This is one of the biggest reasons why a move is yet to materialise: 90min have confirmed that City “won’t stand in the way” if the midfielder wants to leave, though could perhaps take some comfort from the belief that the Catalan outfit wouldn’t meet the asking price for the player.

According to Fabrizio Romano, however, Paris Saint-Germain are on the brink of signing Ousmane Dembele for a fee of around €50 million, despite missing a deadline of when the Frenchman’s release clause doubled to €100m. Even €50m would give Barça a cash injection, with Silva a likely candidate to play on the right wing in Dembele’s absence.

Despite this logic, a deal would not be so easy in reality. Silva would likely become one of Barça’s highest earners with any contract he would sign, while City are likely to value the 28-year-old to be worth almost double what Dembele’s departing Spain for.

Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona looks on during the LaLiga Santander match between Valencia CF and FC Barcelona at Mestalla stadium, October 29, 2022, Valencia, Spain.

Ousmane Dembele could be a vital player in any Bernardo Silva to Barcelona deal (Image credit: David Aliaga/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

It’s therefore far more likely that Barcelona pursue Cancelo. Ivan Fresneda is the second-choice, as per Romano.

Transfermarkt value Silva at €80m.