Pep Guardiola Gives Up And Lets Bernardo Silva Join Barcelona
JAKARTA - Pep Guardiola has invited Bernardo Silva to leave Manchester City. The coach will not stand in the way of the Portugal midfielder if he wants to join Barcelona.
The 27-year-old is currently the Blaugrana's top transfer target after they managed to land Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde.
"What happens will happen and if he stays, it's perfect, but in the end if he has to leave, it's because football is always like this. Players have desire," Guardiola said.
Silva has reportedly agreed personal terms with the Catalan team through his agent Jorge Mendes. Barcelona is likely to get Silva's signature for a transfer fee of between 82 and 100 million dollars.
Thus, the possibility of Bernardo Silva to leave the Etihad Stadium is now wide open. Therefore, Pep Guardiola does not want to bother and surrender if one of his flagship players really leaves.
"I will not be the one to block other people's wishes. Especially the players' wishes are the most important thing," said the former Barcelona coach.
"Of course I would love Bernardo to continue his career here. He is a special player for us. But I don't know what will happen. We still have many days until the end of the month," added Guardiola.
The issue of Bernardo Silva moving to Barcelona has been heating up in recent days. Besides Barcelona, French giants Paris Saint-Germain are also said to be ready to compete for the midfielder's services.
Barcelona is still looking for the best composition in midfield, especially if Frenkie de Jong joins Manchester United. The proceeds from the sale of the Dutch midfielder could certainly be used to bring in Silva.