Man City star has three-stage ‘special clause’ which allows him to ‘betray’ Guardiola with transfer ‘pending’
Man City midfielder Bernardo Silva should be able to complete a summer transfer to Barcelona thanks to a ‘special clause’ in his contract, according to reports.
The Citizens won their fourth consecutive Premier League title earlier this month but couldn’t replicate their Treble from the season before.
Real Madrid were fortunate to beat Man City on penalties in the Champions League quarter-finals, while arch-rivals Man Utd defeated Pep Guardiola’s side 2-1 in the FA Cup final last weekend.
After winning the Champions League last season and retaining the Premier League title once again this term, there are rumours that some players could leave Man City in search of a new challenge.
Kevin de Bruyne has been linked to Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, while Silva has been consistently linked with a move to La Liga giants Barcelona.
Journalist Pete O’Rourke said in April that Silva was thinking of leaving Man City in search of a “better style of living” with the midfielder “not happy with the weather in England”.
“For me, losing Bernardo Silva would be a huge blow,” O’Rourke said.
“It’s been talked about for years and years that he could leave and the player is supposedly not happy with the weather in England.
“He maybe fancies moving abroad for a better style of living. There will be no shortage of takers for Silva. But for me, he is one of the key players in the squad.”
A report on Wednesday insisted that Silva has decided to ‘reject’ Barcelona but that he is in ‘negotiations’ with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.
It was claimed that the Portugal international is still expected to ‘betray’ Guardiola in the summer but that everything has changed with Hansi Flick’s appointment as the new Barcelona manager.
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It complete contrast, reports in Spain claim today that Barcelona has the signing of Silva ‘in its hand, pending financial fair play’ with a ‘special clause’ set to allow his arrival at the Catalan giants.
Silva ‘wants a change of scenery’ and Barcelona should be able to sign him if they are allowed to pay his €57m clause in ‘three payments of €19m’.
It is understood that Barcelona – who are asking for ‘patience’ from the Man City star – will ‘evaluate the operation carefully’ as it could mean that Silva is their main big-name signing in the summer transfer window.
The report adds: ‘The Portuguese would sign a contract for the next 4 seasons, so his relationship with Barça would extend until he turned 34.’
