Manchester City refuse to sell Bernardo Silva, will ‘demand at least £80million’ to stave off the interest of Barcelona

Manchester City have reportedly refused to sell Bernardo Silva and have slapped an £80million price tag on on the midfielder in an attempt to stave off the interest of Barcelona.

The 27-year-old’s long-term future at Manchester City is believed to be uncertain, having previously expressed his desire to seek pastures new.

The midfielder still has three years left to run on his current contract in Manchester, where he has gone on to make 251 appearances for the club across all competitions since making the £43.6m move from Monaco back in July 2017.

Of late, there have been a lot of speculations linking Barcelona with a move for the Portugal midfielder, with reports suggesting Xavi has met with Silva’s agent Jorge Mendes.

According to a fresh report from SPORT, Manchester City have decided not to sell Silva in the summer transfer window, deeming the Portuguese international ‘non-transferable’.

A separate report on Saturday claims Guardiola and Silva have a secret pact which would allow the Portuguese star to leave the club this summer.

Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo report that Silva has Guardiola’s word that he can depart the Premier League champions in the summer transfer window if he wishes, and if the offer is good for City.

Pep Guardiola was asked about a potential move to Camp Nou last week – and he simply replied: “They will have a difficult time [signing Bernardo].”

Spanish publication SPORT went states that the Premier League champions have seemingly doubled down on that stance by making it clear that the 27-year-old will not be sold in the summer.

Another separate report on Saturday from the Mirror claims Pep Guardiola’s side plan to extend Bernardo Silva’s current contract and will demand in excess of £80M for the midfield star, should Barcelona increase interest this summer.

The report states that City hope the £80million fee will force Barca to turn their attention away from Silva, who has 48 goals and 51 assists in 251 games for Guardiola’s side.

Given Barcelona’s financial situation, a move to sign him would have been hard to pull off. Senior sources at Man City are adamant that a sale of Frenkie De Jong will not generate enough cash for a Silva move.