Man City open doors to Bernardo Silva exit and set their price
The Portuguese playmaker is a Barcelona target but the club are financially crocked
La Liga president Javier Tebas was categorical on Thursday about FC Barcelona's chances of entering the transfer market next summer. The president of Spanish football's governing body assured during his participation in the Financial Times' Business of Football Summit that the Blaugrana will not be able to strengthen their squad. Barça's sporting management, however, is working to do its homework in case the club can improve its financial situation or if Tebas' words are just a bluff.
And the main target to reinforce the current squad has a name, and a surname: Bernardo Silva. In fact, Barça have already tried to sign him during the last two transfer windows. In the summer, the operation was not possible because it depended directly on the departure of Frenkie de Jong to Manchester United, an option that did not come to fruition. In the winter, City rejected a loan proposal with an option to buy for 70 million euros from the Blaugrana, as the City manager refused to part with a key player in his mid-season plans.
Despite these two failed attempts and their complicated financial situation, Barça are not throwing in the towel. And the president, Joan Laporta, is working with the Portuguese midfielder's agent, Jorge Mendes, to bring Bernardo Silva's arrival at Camp Nou to fruition. The Blaugrana club has the approval of the player, who has already said openly that, at 28, his desire is to start another adventure away from Manchester. He summed it up in an interview with Record: "I won't deny that my goal for the last years of my career, if something good happens elsewhere, will probably be to go to a new project."
Neither Bernardo Silva nor his agent have been maturing the situation to get Manchester City to open the exit door for him. So much so that in a recent meeting, the club's sporting director, Txiki Begiristain, even told Bernardo Silva: "If you want to go, go".
The reigning Premier League champion has had enough of the situation and with two years to go until his contract expires in June 2025, all he wants to do is cash in. City have already told Mendes that if he comes in with a bid of 65 million they will transfer Bernardo Silva.
The price is a real market opportunity that Barça would not want to waste. And the player would be delighted to join the project that Xavi is building at the Blaugrana. The amount of the transfer is not a problem, as Barça have the capacity to finance it. It would be more complicated to fit his salary into the wage bill without skipping the fair play that Tebas watches over with a magnifying glass and an iron fist.
Bernardo Silva is receiving seven million net which, with Spanish taxation, becomes 14m. And the Portuguese midfielder asks Barça to improve his salary.
