Bernardo Silva: Between Manchester City and Barcelona ‘miles away’ from the transfer fee

CBS Correspondent Ben Jacobs writes that Barcelona and Manchester City are ‘miles’ away in their assessments of Bernardo Silva, making a deal unlikely this summer.

Barcelona will probably be too busy with their income and expenses before the window closes. Bernardo Silva is a player they want so badly but Pep Guardiola was clear he would not leave City.

PSG had an interest but they know the deal is tough because they also don’t want to pay the price City are asking.

It is clear that Barcelona loves Bernardo and the player is open to this move, which is what made the Catalans very excited.

But the truth is that Silva will not perform Wesley Fofana and will make his way out of the club, and Barcelona and City are miles away in the assessment at the moment.

A deal does not seem likely, and if Guardiola is to be believed, a deal is impossible from now until the window closes.

The structure of the deal is key to Barcelona

It will be hard to see how Barcelona can find the money to agree a deal for Bernardo unless Frenkie de Jong unexpectedly leaves. And even then, it may be stretched.

Even if Barcelona join Bernardo, Manchester City will not allow them to pay in crazy installments, so they will have to find a big part up front.

This is why the structure of any deal is so important. If Barcelona need to find that huge chunk, it’s not just about agreeing to a deal for De Jong, which is unlikely, it’s about getting the premiums in a way that gets them more liquid capital.

It is not a good idea to sell De Jong if the payments are in three or four installments. This will not make you a selva.

Barcelona will seek to offload players like Sergino Dest, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay, but at this point nothing is significant yet.

The other upcoming is Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso and that will determine Aubameyang’s move based on whether it is a swap deal or a straight-forward cash deal.