£80m Man City star agrees to join Barcelona but transfer hinges on De Jong to Man utd

Bernardo Silva reportedly agreed to join Barcelona from Manchester City this summer.

The Portugal international was close to leaving City last summer but opted to stay and ended up playing an important role in the club's 2021-22 Premier League title win.

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He scored eight goals and made four assists as the Citizens finished on 93 points, one point above second-placed Liverpool.

Barcelona have been linked with Bernardo for a long time but it seems unlikely that he will complete a deal given City have imposed an £80m price tag on the playmaker.

A report from last month claimed that Bernardo had been made aware of the La Liga club's interest through his agent, Jorge Mendes, and the player and his representatives believed at this stage that they must be " patients".

It has been claimed that Pep Guardiola has spoken with Barcelona president Joan Laporta and that the 27-year-old has a 'verbal agreement' with the City manager that he can leave if there is a 'good offer' from the club. Barça was coming.

And Spanish publication Sport (via Forbes) now claim that Bernardo has agreed to move to Barcelona, ​​and negotiations have begun on a deal "between €85m and €95m".

The decision is believed to hinge on the transfer of Frenkie de Jong, who has been rumored to be on the verge of a move to Manchester United for weeks.

But Laporta questioned the deal on Saturday, noting: "We have no intention of selling him and he wants to stay. I will do everything in my power to ensure he stays."

But the report says Bernardo has told Guardiola of his desire to leave Manchester, and while the City boss wants to retain his services, he recently admitted he will not stop players who want to leave Manchester. do it.

"As of today, I think Bernardo will continue at Man City next season but as I've always said, I don't like to keep players unhappy," Guardiola said during the announcement of a friendly match at the end of August between City and Barcelona. .

"But Bernardo is important and I think he will stay."