Bernardo Silva to Barcelona: How much are Man City asking?
Karan Tejwani
- Updated: 13 Jun 2022 11:26 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona have identified Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva as a potential replacement for Frenkie de Jong, should the Dutchman leave the club this summer.
The Blaugrana have kept tabs on the player for the last two summers, with Xavi interested in bringing him to the Camp Nou this year if they have the opportunity to.
This season, it’s been said that the interest has been reignited, but only if De Jong goes to Manchester United, which seems like a possibility.
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However, regardless of whether De Jong goes, this move could be quite difficult to complete for Barcelona as they may be priced out of it.
Silva has had a fine season at Manchester City, becoming one of their most important players in a season they won the Premier League title for the second year running.
How much are Man City asking for Bernardo Silva?
Last year, Pep Guardiola was willing to let Silva go if Barcelona paid a fee of around £45 million, but things are slightly different this season after a change in circumstances.
Now, it’s being reported that City are looking for a fee close to £80 million for one of their star players, who was given Player of the Season shouts in a team consisting of the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri.
Guardiola himself admitted last week that it will be difficult for Barcelona to sign Silva considering their dire financial situation and it does seem unlikely that a move would be possible.
Bernardo Silva was so good last season. You couldn’t get the ball off him ✨
pic.twitter.com/52YYqzxb0y— CrossAndNod (@crossandnodFT) June 10, 2022
Silva was speaking to the Portuguese media last week over "Unfortunately, I won't be able to answer, because I'm at the service of the national team and super focused on the game that remains. When the season ends, we'll see what happens."
Barcelona have debts of over €1.1 billion, accumulated after several years of mismanagement and poor transfer planning, which have forced the club to alter their transfer strategy.
They have relied on free and loan moves in recent times to bolster their squad, but are having trouble in registering Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie, who they agreed deals with earlier this year.
They need to sell players to reduce their debt and have also looked at external sources of financing, including the sale of their media rights and sponsorships.
Signing Silva would be a big statement of intent, but it seems unlikely to happen in the near future unless there is a drastic change in the Catalan club’s financial situation.
