Manchester City star Bernardo Silva still wants to leave the club this summer and would have to leave if his representatives can make a good offer to the 26-year-old.
News of Bernardo’s desire to leave the city did not come until earlier this summer, with a number of City players who thought they had become dissatisfied with their role in the squad.
City cruised to the 2020/21 Premier League title, largely thanks to squad depths that allowed them to keep players constantly healthy in a way that other clubs could not. Only Ederson, Ruben Dias and Rodri started more than 30 Premier League matches, but keeping players happy in such an attitude proves to be a difficult task that Pep Guardiola and club officials now have to deal with.
Bernardo does not seem to be the only one. It has been reported since the end of the club season that Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Aymeric Laporte, Riyad Mahrez, Joao Cancelo and even Rodri may try to leave. Rodri was basically an automatic start during much of the campaign, but got a place for both the Champions League semi-final second stage and the final itself.
Bernardo was City’s player for the season during the 2018/19 title winning campaign and has been a very popular figure among fans. But he started only 23 of 34 Premier League appearances in 2019/20 and then started 24 of 26 Premier League appearances in 2020/21.
Man City will not block a transfer for Bernardo if there is a good offer / Marc Atkins / Getty Images
Barcelona was linked to a move last summer and The Athletic now writes that everything was actually in place for that to happen. The player is said to have had his heart set on moving to Camp Nou to the point where he was left ‘crested’ when it broke down late.
After four years with City, he is still “anxious to change the landscape” and it is not believed that the club will stand in his way. Their position on the issue is said to be similar to that of other recently retired players such as Leroy Sane, Nicolas Otamendi and Danilo, whose agents were informed that their client can go if they can find a club willing to make a good offer.
In short, it’s a bit of a point to try to keep a player against his will, although it can hurt Guardiola to lose talents like Bernardo and Sterling in particular.
An alternative recently rumored to be on the table regarding Bernardo is a swap deal with Atletico Madrid that would see central midfielder Saul Niguez go in the opposite direction.
Saul is known for being ready to leave Atletico and such a deal could negate the need for a buyer to bring in around £ 60m for Bernardo at a time when most clubs are struggling financially due to the effects of the pandemic.
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