Man City reject Bernardo Silva bid
Manchester City have rejected a bid worth €70 million from Paris Saint-Germain for attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva as they don’t wish to strengthen the French champions’ squad.
Silva has been an important figure over the past season, contributing heavily to their dramatic title win on the final day of the season, and has been chased by some of Europe’s top clubs.
Barcelona were eager to bring him to the Camp Nou, with the player open to the move as well, but they don’t have the financial means to pull off the operation, inviting PSG to enter the fray.
The 28-year-old has a contract at the Etihad Stadium for a further three years – until 2025 – but has asked the club to let him leave as soon as possible.
Barcelona, PSG chase Silva
City have rejected the bid from PSG as they feel Silva would give them the midfield strength to go on and win the Champions League in the coming years before Manchester City can.
PSG have spent massively this summer on wanting to improve their midfield, bringing in Vitinha from Porto and Renato Sanches from Lille, and it doesn’t seem as though they’re done yet.
Barcelona, too, had long maintained an interest in the player but a deal would only have been possible had they sold Frenkie de Jong, who, despite weeks of negotiations with Manchester United, still plays for the Blaugrana.
Manchester City reject PSG’s initial €70m offer for Bernardo Silva
• PSG believe Guardiola blocked transfer over fear midfielder will turn Qatar-owned club into Champions League winners
• Bernardo rejected MCFC contract offer on De Bruyne-level salaryhttps://t.co/r8pfD4Ca8g pic.twitter.com/gLd2DUYonn— Duncan Castles (@DuncanCastles) August 25, 2022
Xavi is known to be an admirer of Silva, and the player is a fan of the club, having seen Deco play for them, but a move could never materialize as City’s demands were too high.
At one point, it was believed that City would budge on their demands and charge less than a fee of €80 million for the Portuguese, but that hasn’t happened.
Barcelona themselves will be threatened by PSG, who are in a more secure financial position than they are, and they may miss out on the midfielder if the French champions come back with another offer for Silva.