Barcelona look set to miss out on the signing of Manchester City star Bernardo Silva, with the midfielder now set to sign a new contract.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who have claimed that despite his desire to join Barcelona, he has now lost patience in waiting for the club to reach a strong-enough financial position to sign him.
The 28-year-old now looks set to stay at the Etihad Stadium and sign a contract extension. Pep Guardiola recently stated that wantaway players will be allowed to leave if a suitable offer arrives, but it now appears that time has run out for Barcelona to secure a deal for the Portugal star.
This may come as a blow to Xavi, who may have seen Silva as a good replacement for Ousmane Dembele, given his ability to play on the right wing.
Why did Barcelona want Bernardo Silva?
Silva has been targeted by Barcelona for a number of years, and it easy to see why, with the versatile midfielder offering both elite technical security on the ball as well as top-class end product in front of goal.
He has been described as “world-class,” and has been highly influential for City over the years, having particularly impressed as the treble-winners demolished Real Madrid in the Champions League last season.
Although Barcelona are now well-stocked in midfield areas following the arrivals of Ilkay Gundogan and Oriol Romeu, Silva could have been an option both out wide and in the middle, and could have been especially useful to Xavi now as he is expected to use a formation which will see a midfielder play out wide, and tuck into the middle when in possession.
Barcelona’s system and style of play could have been perfectly suited to Silva, and he would have added serious quality to the team, but they will now have to look elsewhere given that his future appears to be at Man City.