How Barcelona can still sign €100m Bernardo Silva
FT Desk
- 30 Aug 2022 16:22 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona haven't given up on signing Bernardo Silva from Manchester City, even if the English champions have slapped a massive price tag on the Portuguese midfielder.
Barca have already dropped €160 million on players this summer, led by the acquisitions of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde, while Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie have been acquired on frees.
But Barca coach Xavi is a big admirer of Bernardo, and considers the midfielder to be the final piece of the jigsaw as he looks to build a squad capable of winning the Champions League this season.
Can Pep convince Bernardo Silva to stay? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/kbVx9sBRz8
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 5, 2022
"You never lose hope, but it's difficult," said the Blaugrana tactician after Barca's recent friendly 3-3 draw with City. "It's complicated. We're only a few days away [from the end of the transfer window]. We must have players leaving too."
Barca were more than €1 billion in debt when they lost Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain last summer, but through the activation of "financial levers" - selling a percentage of future revenues in exchange for liquid capital now - they have been able to be active in the transfer market.
Summer sales
They have also sold Philippe Coutinho, Franciso Trincao (on loan) and Oscar Mingueza for a combined €26m, and have €57m to go shopping with. Clearly that won't be enough to sign Bernardo, but Barca are optimistic of offloading a number of other players before Thursday's deadline.
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is nearing a €25m move to Chelsea, while Memphis Depay could fetch another €10m with a move to Manchester United. Sergino Dest, Martin Braithwaite, Miralim Pjanic and Ez Abde are all also set to be offloaded, making a move for Bernardo financially possible.
There is also the possibility that Frenkie de Jong moves to Manchester in part-exchange. Barca have been trying to get the Dutchman off their books all summer, and Bernardo's ball-carrying profile makes him the perfect candidate to replace him tactically.
