Samir Nasri

Speaking to the media ahead of their Premier League opener against West Ham United, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hinted that star midfielder Bernardo Silva might be on his way out of the Etihad amidst strong links to Barcelona. Bernardo Silva has been on the radars of Barcelona since last summer, with the Catalans intent on landing the 27-year-old midfielder. Having failed to do so in 2021, the Catalan bigwigs are after the Portuguese international’s services once again this summer, although his signing would be contingent on Frenkie de Jong leaving the club.

Silva, for his part, is believed to be keen on joining Barcelona and is understood to have reached an agreement with the Blaugrana over a potential move already. Manchester City have been standing firm on their stance that the former Benfica and AS Monaco ace is not for sale, with Guardiola himself ruling out an exit in the recent past. However, the Cityzens’ manager has now changed his tune on the future of Silva, admitting that there is a chance that the Portuguese superstar could be on his way out of the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola's statements come as a huge hint that Manchester City will not stand in the way of an exit if Silva asks them to sanction a move to Barcelona. However, the Blaugrana must offload de Jong first and resolve their player registration issues before they can dream of adding the Portuguese international to their roster.
Former Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri has suggested that it might be a huge mistake if the Manchester club let go of the Portugal international midfielder this summer after already selling Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arteta and Arsenal in the same transfer window.