“I cannot afford to pay £40 million for him; he should go back to Manchester City. Pep Guardiola lacks the experience to manage players of this caliber; he’s like a novice coach.”

Barcelona is reportedly reluctant to meet the release clause to acquire a Manchester City player this summer. In the previous transfer window, the La Liga club signed Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer and secured a season-long loan deal for Joao Cancelo.

However, behind-the-scenes insights reveal that Barcelona still have Bernardo Silva as a transfer target for this summer, although he’s not their top priority. They consider the £50 million release clause in his contract excessive and may only pursue the 29-year-old if they manage to offload players first.

Xavi, Barcelona’s manager for the next season, remains a big admirer of Silva, having attempted to convince him to join the Spanish club last summer. Since his £43 million move to Manchester City in 2017, Silva has amassed 349 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 66 goals, providing 62 assists, and winning numerous domestic and European titles.

Silva has been instrumental for City, starting in 37 of the 43 games he’s appeared in this season, earning a weekly wage of £300,000. Pep Guardiola has expressed confidence and comfort when Silva is on the pitch, citing his intelligence and intuition in ball retention, as evidenced by his decisive goal in City’s FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea.

Considering Silva’s importance to City and his impressive contributions, if Barcelona is unwilling to meet his release clause, it may be best for them to abandon their pursuit of signing him altogether.