Guardiola confirms Bernardo’s interest in joining Barcelona: “He likes the club”

Speaking after the charity match between Barcelona and Manchester City, Pep Guardiola confirmed that key midfielder Bernardo Silva desires to join the Catalan giants in the ongoing transfer window.

Barcelona were keen on signing Silva last summer itself, but financial difficulties held the club back. While they are still in a delicate state economically, the Blaugrana seem to be going all guns blazing in their efforts to sign the 28-year-old Portuguese ace.

It has been reported for some time that Silva himself is interested in joining the La Liga heavyweights and his manager, Guardiola, confirmed the same during his post-match press conference after Barça and City played out a 3-3 draw.

“Bernardo Silva is our player and we want him to be with us, but I don’t want players in my team if they’re not happy. If an offer comes in for Bernardo Silva, both clubs have to agree, and if the player wants to leave… I don’t know,” Guardiola said.

“There are 7 days left for the transfer market to close. That being said, Bernardo really likes Barcelona…”

Further speaking on the same topic, he added: “I’m not the one to tell Barça that they can’t go for Bernardo Silva. He is a top player and a humble person. We love him, and as of now, he’s with us.”

Talking about his return to Camp Nou, Guardiola said: “It was special to come back here, looking back at the stadium, which was pretty much full. I had the honour of managing Barça. Evidently, I love them and wish the absolute best for them.”

Speaking about his former protege and current Barcelona manager, Xavi Hernandez, Guardiola said: “Xavi will succeed at Barça, I am fully convinced.”

“Barcelona have signed top, top players. They have a lot of squad depth now. And they have Xavi, who knows a lot about football. He will do a spectacular job, I am sure about it. I wish him all the best,” he added.

Guardiola also thanked Juan Carlos Unzue, who helped organise the charity match to support research into ALS – a condition that the former Barcelona goalkeeper suffers from.

“Thank you for inviting us, Unzue. We want to thank everyone who contributed to this, you all made this possible.

“Barça is a special club. These sort of things must always be celebrated, and led by someone like Juan Carlos. We had the honour of participating in this event.”

Source: BarçaTV+