Bernardo Silva 'offered himself to Barcelona' and 'sent a text' telling them he wanted a move

Bernardo Silva sent a come-and-get-me text to Barcelona officials after urging them to sign him when they visited England in late 2021, according to a report.

Barca held successful talks with City over Ferran Torres in late November and December, when Portugal playmaker Bernardo is said to have taken an opportunity to alert them to his 'dream' of playing for the Catalan giants.

Visiting executives thought the 27-year-old was joking until one of them later received a message from him telling them to explore the move, Mundo Deportivo has claimed.

The outlet says the player's agent, Jorge Mendes, has reiterated his client's intent to Barcelona president Joan Laporta, sports vice president Rafa Yuste and director of football Mateu Alemany in 'successive' meetings since January.

The four-time Premier League winner is said to have become a Barca fan when he saw former Portugal midfielder Deco, who was a teammate of current manager Xavi at the Camp Nou, playing for them in 2004.

That sparked an early desire to play for the club which the former Benfica and Monaco midfielder has reportedly retained throughout his career.

Five-time Champions League winners Barca have been persistently linked with Bernardo Silva despite their recent financial troubles.

The sale of Netherlands international Frenkie de Jong could prove pivotal to their chances of completing a deal, with City reportedly asking for £80m in a bid to dissuade Barca from making a move.

Barcelona have been boosted by a £235m stadium naming rights deal with Spotify and are aiming to close the gap on champions Real Madrid in Xavi's first full season in charge.

The club legend was appointed on November 6 — weeks before Bernardo Silva purportedly made his availability clear.

City manager Pep Guardiola, who has seen Bernardo score 48 times and provide 51 assists since signing for the club in 2017, played down talk of the transfer when he visited Barcelona on Monday to discuss an August friendly between the sides.

Guardiola said: 'As of today, in my opinion, I think Bernardo Silva will continue with Man City next season.

'Our goal, as a club, is for him to stay with us. This is our intention, although I don't like to keep players at Man City that are unhappy.'

Bernard signed a three-year contract extension in 2019 to keep him at City until 2025.

City were said to have been confident in February of agreeing a new deal to keep him until 2026, but the club's Goal of the Season winner refused to discuss his future while on international duty earlier this month.