Barcelona agree €80m fee with Man City for Bernardo Silva as Xavi seeks 'final piece of puzzle'

Bacelona have reportedly agreed a fee of just under €80m for Manchester City star Bernardo Silva.

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 some time but it seemed unlikely that he would complete a deal given City 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.

Another report then claimed that Bernardo had agreed to move to Barcelona and that negotiations had started on a deal "between 85 and 95 million euros".

And now, according to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero (via si.com), Barcelona and City have agreed a fee of just under €80m for Bernardo Silva, Mendes being heavily involved in the talks between the two clubs.

Barca boss Xavi sees Bernardo as the 'perfect piece of the puzzle' for his team.

Bernardo has told Guardiola of his desire to leave Manchester, and while the City boss is keen to retain his services, he recently admitted he will not stop players who want to leave from doing so.

"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."