Bernardo Silva: A long-standing Barça target who could arrive for free in 2026

FC Barcelona could have one of their old transfer market targets within 'reach' next summer. Bernardo Silva, one of the frustrated dreams of Xavi Hernández during his time on the Barça bench, has a contract that ends at the end of 25/26 and seems determined to leave Manchester City after nine seasons with Pep Guardiola's team.

The '20' of the Mancunian team was, along with Martín Zubimendi, Xavi's great objective to shield the Barça midfield, but the club's problems with 'Fair Play' closed the door on both of them. Even Bernardo, who, in 2022, even said goodbye to the City fans, waiting for an offer from Barça that never arrived.

Finally, Silva decided to renew until 2026 and, in 22/23, he won the treble with the 'cityzens'. Now, the Lisbon native seems ready to start a new adventure, perhaps his last as an elite footballer, although he only turned 31 in August.

Barça Could Sign Bernardo Silva on a 'Free Transfer' Next Summer

Although his records in the last two seasons were discreet compared to those of Pep Guardiola, Bernardo remains a 'top' midfielder in the Premier League. This season he has 1 goal and 2 assists in 11 games and, for Hansi Flick's Barça, he could be a luxury replacement for Pedri González.

For the moment, the '8' does not have an ideal replacement, and the workload of matches has diminished his performance in the last two matches of the Barça team, against Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla.

However, beyond the possibility of signing him on a 'free transfer', the Portuguese midfielder's salary would not be easy for the 'Culés' to assume. This season, the '20' from Manchester earns around 18 million euros net per year. If he were to move to Catalonia, the Portuguese player would have to reduce his earnings to around 10 'kilos' per season in order to fit his signing into the Catalan payroll.

Recently, Bernardo opened the door to his possible departure from City in 2026 with statements that sounded like a farewell. In total, the midfielder has 72 goals and 74 assists in 416 official matches with the 'sky blue' team.

"I know exactly what I'm going to do, but it's not the time to talk about it. **It's time to focus here, on City, to try to do the best I can so that the club is back where it should be"

Benfica's plan to recover Bernardo Silva

However, Barça may face a significant obstacle in entering negotiations with Bernardo Silva. Benfica's presidential candidate, Joao Noronha, promised to sign the 31-year-old midfielder in 2026, even considering bringing him back to Lisbon in the upcoming summer market.

The Portuguese international, although he trained in the 'eagles' youth academy, only managed to play 3 games with the first team before leaving for Monaco. There, he made the definitive leap to stardom, being one of the key players in the team that won Ligue 1 in 2017, in addition to reaching the Champions League 'semi-finals' that same year.

Will Benfica be Bernardo's next destination? For now, the only thing clear is that the player seems convinced to end his time in Manchester next year, after nine seasons in which he managed to win everything and become a 'sky blue' legend.

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