Bernardo Silva is waiting for FC Barcelona to try and sign him.
Manchester City star Bernardo Silva is waiting for FC Barcelona to make an approach to sign him according to Mundo Deportivo.
The Portuguese was the Catalans’ forbidden fruit in 2022. During cash-strapped times when they had to pull a series of ‘economic levers’ to sign players such as Raphinha, Jules Kounde and Robert Lewandowski, Barca also made a late push for Silva in the summer transfer window to no avail.
The potential coup depended on selling Frenkie de Jong to City’s crosstown rivals Manchester United.
Barca were reportedly quoted figures between €70-€100 million ($78.7-112.5 million) for Silva, and accepted an offer of €85 million for De Jong according to The Athletic.
De Jong refused to move, citing a desire to succeed under first team coach Xavi Hernandez and play in the Champions League – which the Red Devils couldn’t provide at the time – as his reasons for staying put.
And while 12 months later United have reinitiated their interest in De Jong but had their advances rebuffed again according to Mundo Deportivo, the same daily newspaper reports this week that Barca will try to sign Silva once more and that the player is waiting for the La Liga giants to make their move.
Silva apparently “continues to dream of wearing” Blaugrana and is aware that his agent Jorge Mendes and ally in Barca president Joan Laporta are working on a possible transfer.
He has stopped listening to any other proposals, which are coming in thick and fast from Saudi Arabia and Paris Saint Germain, and is willing to push for a move to Catalonia if needs be.
The 28-year-old expects Barca to make their move soon and not wait until the end of the window to launch an assault, yet how they will do that is the key question given their financial difficulties.
Surely such an operation is dependent on making player sales, and there have so far been no buyers step forward for the likes of Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
There is interest in Raphinha from Saudi Arabia according to MD collaborator Achraf Ben Ayad, and any club from the Kingdom could probably table the €80 million ($90 million) required to snatch Silva.
Even if Barca were to accept such a proposal, however, the Brazilian, under contract until 2027, has no obligation to move on with Xavi having also said he is important for his plans next season.
Mundo Deportivo spoke of a loan deal with an obligation to buy later for Silva, but it seems wishful thinking that any employer would agree to this when it involves one of their best players.
At the same time, City and their coach Pep Guardiola have an unwritten rule not to stand in the way of squad members that wish to move on, and that may prove important if Laporta and Mendes can conjure up a solid plan that appeases all concerned on the money side of things.