Guardiola: I won’t stop Silva from joining Barcelona

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has said he would not stand in Bernardo Silva’s way should the latter wish to join Barcelona before the end of the transfer window.

Guardiola said there has been no bid from his former club for the Portuguese midfielder, but would not keep Silva in Manchester against his will.

The manager made this known while speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the start of City’s Premier League defence at West Ham on Sunday.

He said: “I was comfortable working with Oleks, Raheem, Gabriel, incredible characters that helped us achieve what we achieved.

“Sometimes for the club, sometimes for the players, sometimes for the agent, sometimes you have to divide our path.

“Especially the desire of the player is the most important thing. Of course, I would love Bernardo to continue here, he is a special player for us. But I don’t know what is going to happen.

“What happens will happen and if he stays it is perfect and in the end, if he has to leave it is because football is like this, the player has a desire. I will not be a person to stop a desire for the people,” Guardiola stated.

Despite debts of 1.3 billion euros ($1.3 billion) Barcelona have embarked on a spending spree this summer and will reportedly turn their attention to Silva should Frenkie de Jong depart the Camp Nou.

City have already let Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko join Arsenal and sold Raheem Sterling to Chelsea this summer as all three sought more regular game time.

By contrast, Silva has been a vital player in City winning four Premier League titles in the past five seasons, and would be difficult to replace in the final weeks of the transfer window.

The Star