Bernardo Silva reaches decision on Man City future as Barcelona talks progress

Bernardo Silva has decided to bring his Manchester City chapter to a close at the end of the season, with reports from Spain claiming talks with a new club are already at an advanced stage.

The 31-year-old Portugal international is approaching the final months of his contract at Manchester City, and his future has been the subject of persistent speculation for several seasons. According to Spanish outlet Nacional, Silva has now “communicated his willingness to move on”, bringing clarity to a long-running saga.

While Silva has regularly been linked with a return to boyhood club Benfica, and more recently with a lucrative switch to the Saudi Pro League, the latest reports suggest his preference lies elsewhere.

Silva’s priority is said to be a move to Barcelona — a club he reportedly views as both a “personal and professional dream”. The Blaugrana have been monitoring his situation for months, with head coach Hansi Flick believed to be a long-time admirer.

Barcelona are keen to strengthen at low cost and see Silva as a player capable of carrying responsibility when Pedri is unavailable. The young midfielder has frequently been overburdened in recent seasons, and physical issues have followed, prompting Barça to look for experienced support.

Crucially, Silva is said to be open to taking a pay cut in order to facilitate the move.

Further insight into Silva’s thinking has been provided by El Chiringuito TV journalist Nico Rodríguez, who explained the personal element behind the decision.

“Bernardo has taken the decision to end his cycle at Manchester City after nine years,” Rodríguez said.
“He has won a lot and has been very happy in Manchester.

“He is an important player in Europe and for personal/family reasons, he has come to the decision to take up another project [in his career]. I don't know if it's at Barcelona or not but this is the information I have.”

Silva himself has previously hinted that a decision had already been made, even if he was unwilling to go public while the season was ongoing.

Back in September, the City captain said: “I know exactly what I'm going to do but it's not the time to talk about it. It's time to focus on Man City, to try to do my best to try to put the club back where it belongs.

“We know that we've had a lot of captains who have left in the past, but it's the guys who have the most experience to pass it to the young guys and hopefully they will be the next ones to pass that experience.

“I'm focused on doing a proper season with Man City and doing as well as possible to perform and bring back the team to the level it deserves to be.

“As first captain you need to make sure that some things don't happen and create that kind of environment but what we see and what we saw in the past in this group is great characters and that's what you need.

“My job now is to try to create that energy and chemistry back as a group of captains, so people behave in the right way in training and games, arrive early, train properly, take care of themselves.”

For now, Silva remains fully committed to Pep Guardiola’s side, with Manchester City back in Champions League action against Bodø/Glimt later today.

Barcelona will continue to assess their financial room ahead of the summer window, while Manchester City prepare for life after one of their most influential midfielders of the Guardiola era.

Would Bernardo Silva be the ideal solution to Barcelona’s midfield depth issues next season?