In light of the ongoing links between Bernardo Silva and Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has stopped Silva from leaving the team before the deadline for transfers.
This summer, Barcelona have been aggressively pursuing Silva, and City was forced to refute reports in the Catalan press that a transfer agreement had been reached in July.
Silva has continued to shine for City in recent years, contributing significantly to multiple Premier League championship victories. Despite being content to play for the club, he started to feel uneasy off the field in 2020, during the UK’s first Covid-19 lockdown, and he started to look for a move.
His future in Manchester has repeatedly come up in previous summers, but City has remained steadfast this year and has no desire to let him leave.
Since there wouldn’t be enough time to find a replacement, City official Soriano, formerly a vice-president at Barcelona, has publicly stated as much during an appearance on Què T’hi Jugues on SER Catalunya radio.
“It’s too late to talk about entrances and exits,” Soriano explained.
Early this month, Silva addressed his future and thought he would eventually like to join Barcelona.
“I’ve been open with [Man City] and they know what I want. If I stay, I’m very happy, and will always respect this club and give my best. If not, it’s football and we’ll just see what happens,” he said.
