Joan Laporta makes definitive statement on Bernardo Silva interest

Barcelona and Manchester City have an excellent relationship overall, due to the significant links between the Manchester side and Barcelona. However the two have awkwardly skirted around the fact that one of Pep Guardiola’s best players has been consistently linked with a move to Barcelona for much of the past year.

If there is no smoke without fire, then someone on one side of the deal was consistently feeding through rumours about Silva wanting to move to Camp Nou, with Xavi Hernandez cast as his greatest admirer.

Speaking to Que t’hi Jugues in an interview on Thursday, Barcelona President Joan Laporta directly addressed those rumours.

“We will not pay 80 million for Bernardo Silva. That is certain. Haaland? We’ll see how he does it at City, at the moment we have Lewandowski who is doing very well.”

Sport carried his comments, and they probably end hopes of a switch for Barcelona fans. However Laporta does not explicitly rule out a move either.

Manchester City would be well within their rights to demand a fee in that region, given the quality of the player. Guardiola and City have always prided themselves on letting players that are unhappy leave though, and it may be that Laporta was floating that idea as manifestation of his desire to see the price drop. All of is of course redundant if Silva does not push for an exit.