Paris Saint-Germain are plotting a deal to hijack for Barcelona’s prime target Bernardo Silva from Manchester City. Bernardo has been on the radars of the Catalans for a while now, but their failure to offload players to make way for him has kept the attacker from joining them. PSG are now aiming to swoop in for him, as they have tabled a bid worth €70 million in front of City according to L’Equipe.
PSG’s move comes after Man City reportedly have agreed to let go Bernardo Silva as he seeks new challenge. However, the English champions want their evaluation of the midfielder to be met if he is to be sold this summer. Furthermore, Silva himself wanted a move to Camp Nou this summer which was expected to take place only if the Catalans sold Frenkie de Jong in the range of €80 million. But since the Dutch international has refused to leave, it seems Silva will have to seek a new challenge elsewhere.
El PSG ofrece 70 millones de euros por Bernardo Silva, tal y como ha adelantado @lequipe.
El Manchester City va a rechazar esa oferta y pedirá alrededor de 90 millones por el portugués.
Para Guardiola es un jugador fundamental y quiere quedarse con él.
✍️ @MatteMoretto pic.twitter.com/BGDLHaCijS
— Relevo (@relevo) August 24, 2022
PSG’s offer set to be rejected as City hold out on their €90 million price tag
Bernardo Silva has been a blockbuster signing by Manchester City after they grabbed him from that famous AS Monaco side which reached the Champions League semi-finals in the 2016/17 season. He has since made 254 appearances for City, racking up 100 goal contributions [49 goals and 51 assists]. The attacking midfielder has also helped his club to four Premier League titles playing crucial role in every triumph.
City manager Pep Guardiola has always insisted he wants to keep the 28-year-old as the club handed him a six-year contract extension back in 2019. However, with three years left on his deal, Silva reportedly wanted to make a move to Barcelona, where the club’s president Joan Laporta and manager Xavi are said to be huge fans of him.
Guardiola too had ‘promised’ Silva of not blocking his path, only if a suitable bid arrived. And according to multiple reports, Man City want €90 million for their prized asset. As a result, Barca planned to raise funds through the sale of Frenkie de Jong, agreeing a €85 million deal with Manchester United. De Jong however has refused to leave which foiled Barca’s plans of acquiring the services of Bernardo Silva this summer.
In the same vein, PSG’s offer of €70 million too falls €20 million short of City’s evaluation of former Monaco midfielder and hence is expected to be rejected out of hand. The Parisians are planning a reunion of Bernardo with his former teammate from Monaco, Kylian Mbappe and the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar at Parc des Princes.
Moreover, the Ligue 1 champions also lack a proper player who could create from the midfield and rely on the Messi-Neymar duo to make things happen. Their new manager Christophe Galtier has demanded one, with Bernardo Silva topping the club’s wish-list.
But a PSG move for Bernardo seems complicated after the recent comments of City CEO Ferran Soriano, where he stated: “It’s a little late to discuss about ins and outs…”, while speaking to QueThiJugues over the midfielder’s speculated departure. The French club however is determined to land the 28-year-old, but their stance on shelling out the €90 million is still undisclosed.