Bernardo Silva has refused to commit his future to Manchester City beyond this summer after responding to recent Barcelona transfer links.
The Portuguese is one of the targets on the Spanish giants' wish list this summer, having enjoyed an impressive season with the Premier League champions. But given Barcelona's financial situation and his reported price tag of £85million (€100m), it is not clear how they would be able to afford the City star even if Manchester United -linked Frenkie de Jong leaves.
Bernardo will be facing competition for places next season after the impending arrivals of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez - which could explain why he may want to leave the Etihad this summer. Playing an impressive role and assisting twice in Portugal's 2-0 win over Czech Republic in the Nations League, he was asked about how much a move to the Catalan club attracts him.
The 27-year-old told O Jogo : "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."
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola was asked about a potential move to Camp Nou last week - and he simply replied: "They will have a difficult time [signing Bernardo]."
The Spanish boss is a big admirer of the player, saying back in 2017: "When we sign a player we don't have the certainty that it's going to work but I think we made it right. As long as I'm a coach at Manchester City he's not going to go anywhere.
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"And as a person, what can I say? I always enjoy working with good people and he is one of them. He has an amazing relationship with his teammates, coaching staff, everyone. It is difficult to find anyone in that [regard] than Bernardo Silva.
Portugal coach Fernando Bernardo also hailed the Portuguese's talent after Thursday night's win: "Bernardo, for me, is amongst the top-10 best players in the world."
Bernardo is heading to his fifth season with the Citizens and has been a standout performer at the Etihad with over 250 appearances in a City shirt.
