Barcelona table ambitious double offer for Man City pair

Stuart Telford

• 8 Aug 2023 10:11 CDT
• 3 min read

Barcelona are plotting an ambitious swoop for Manchester City pair Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo, according to reports in Spain.

Barca have been told by La Liga to reduce their debt by €200 million this summer if they want to take part next season, but that hasn't stopped the Blaugrana from being active in this summer's transfer market.

Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez have been signed on free transfers from Man City and Athletic Bilbao respectively, while €40m has been committed to the January 2024 acquisition of Brazilian prodigy Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense.

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Oriol Romeu has also returned to the club on a €3.4m transfer from Girona.

Portuguese pair prioritised

But Barca's purse strings remain tight, with loan deals and the free transfer market what they will primarily have to lean on for the remainder of the summer window, and it is by the former means they have bid for Bernardo and Cancelo.

"Barcelona have sent Manchester City a joint loan offer to get both Portuguese players," report Diario Sport. "In the case of [Bernardo], there would be a mandatory purchase clause of €70m at the end of next season."

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Barca remain in the same €1.35 billion debt they had when they lost Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021, but it has been restructured and it remains possible they could fund such a deal a year from now.

Both players are interested in making the move, with Pep Guardiola having previously given Bernardo his blessing to play for the club he spent 23 years with as player then manager.

The Catalan tactician's relationship with Cancelo has become more fraught, and the full-back was loaned out to Bayern Munich in the second half of last season after Guardiola moved to a system which didn't incorporate attacking full-backs.