Barcelona’s informal enquiry for the services of 28-year-old Bernardo Silva has been turned down by Manchester City.
Barcelona have been interested in bringing Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva to Camp Nou for a while now. They enquired about his availability in the past few hours. But according to a report by 90min, Manchester City will not allow the midfielder to leave in January.
The Catalan giants have been in the market on the deadline day for a midfielder. But, they have not tasted any success yet. Earlier in the day, Fiorentina rejected their bid for Moroccan midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.
Bernardo Silva has been an important player for Manchester City throughout his time at the club. The 28-year-old midfielder has won four Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and four League Cups at City. He has also featured in the UEFA Champions League final. Silva joined the club back in the summer of 2021 for £43.5 million from AS Monaco.
Pep Guardiola has used him in different roles, and the Portuguese midfielder has always delivered. He has featured in 30 matches in all competitions this season and has been directly involved in seven goals. It has been another great year for Silva at the club.
While on the pitch everything has been fine, off it the Portugal international has been unsettled. Ever since 2020, he has not felt great in Manchester. And in the summer of 2021, he even asked to leave Manchester City.
The Manchester City manager admitted that Silva admires Barcelona and that he would let him leave if a desirable offer came. Despite admitting this, Guardiola as well as the club want him to stay. But the 28-year-old remains keen on joining Barcelona.
The Blaugrana have remained interested in Silva but have not been able to land him. After the 2022 summer transfer window ended, Barcelona identified the Portuguese midfielder as their top target for 2023. However, Joan Laporta does not want to splash out €80 million for Silva, even though Xavi is a fan of the player.
According to the reports, Barcelona have enquired about the midfielder today, but it was not a formal bid. However, the Premier League champions have no interest in letting him leave considering that only a few hours are left in the window.
Barcelona want to strengthen their midfield before the end of the window, as they are pushing for the league title. However, they will have to look elsewhere as Manchester City are not interested in this deal.
