Manchester City are basking in the glory of their treble success but risk losing several key players this summer with Bernardo Silva wanted by Paris Saint-Germain.
The Portugal international has been on Barcelona ’s wanted list for over a year with boss Xavi Hernandez confirming they wanted a deal last summer, which did not come to fruition. Silva is now a key transfer target for PSG, who are looking to replace Lionel Messi.
City boss Pep Guardiola has repeatedly refused to sanction Silva’s exit despite the player’s keenness for pastures new. The playmaker played a pivotal role in the club’s successes this campaign but he has made no secret internally that he was open to a move away from the Etihad.
The latest reports claim that PSG’s interest in Silva has intensified with Le Parisien they are stepping up their attempts to sign the 28-year-old while Sport write that he remains their objective for replacing Messi this summer as Barca fear they are falling behind in the pursuit of the player.
The interest in the former Benfica and Monaco star, coupled with the suggestions that he would be open to a move away, but City and Guardiola held firm. It was a stance that was not deployed with multiple other first-team members at the club.
City's refusal to let Silva join Barcelona contradicts what Guardiola said after Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko joined Arsenal last summer. "When you don't want to stay and want to leave, you cannot stay," claimed the City boss – which was also the same approach adopted when Leroy Sane previously departed for Bayern Munich.
Have Your Say! Should City refuse to allow Silva to leave this summer? Tell us what you think here.
Guardiola doubled down on this stance after Raheem Sterling was allowed to join Chelsea in the same transfer window: "If you force one person to stay when he doesn’t want to stay how can you get the best from him? It's impossible. I would love to stay all together but at the same time if a player wants to leave then we will find a solution."
In August, Guardiola said of Silva, in a stark change of tone: "I'm no one to tell Barca to forget about [signing] Bernardo. We want him to stay with us, but I don't want anyone who's not happy. The first thing would be for the clubs to come to an agreement, but there has been no offer for him in these last two years."
He added: "I don't want him to go, he's a superlative player and a great person... and there are only seven or eight days left [in the window] and we would have to turn to the transfer market. I want him to stay. That said, it is true Bernardo likes Barcelona a lot."
In January, Guardiola once again felt compelled to address the future of Silva. It was notable that once again he said it was up to the player, but made it clear of his own view: "He's a key player, so important on and off the pitch. A guy who can talk, always a nice conversation, always you learn about his humanity, his vision for the club. He's an incredible player against top sides, incredibly reliable in decisive games he's always there. Nothing changed about his future, it belongs to him."
