Man City respond to Barcelona enquiry over Bernardo Silva

Manchester City have no intention of allowing Bernardo Silva to leave the club before the January transfer deadline, 90min understands.

Silva has been a key player for City throughout most of his time at the club, wining four Premier League titles, an FA Cup, four League Cups and playing in a Champions League final since he arrived from Monaco for £43.5m in the summer of 2017.

But, while happy in a footballing sense, the Portugal international has been unsettled off the pitch for a considerable time. He first began ‘feeling along’ during the UK’s first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and later asked to leave the club altogether in the summer of 2021.

Pep Guardiola admitted last year that Silva ‘likes Barcelona a lot’ and wouldn’t stand in his way if the player wanted to leave, despite stressing that he wants to keep him. The club took a firmer stance.

Barcelona have remained interested in Silva and, once the 2022 summer transfer window closed, made him a top target for this year instead. Barça president Joan Laporta did only recently rule out spending €80m on Silva, although coach Xavi has said ‘I love him as a player’.

90min can report that Barcelona have checked on Silva’s situation, stopping short of any sort of official approach, but City have said he is going nowhere in the hours that remain of this month.