Two Key Factors Were Behind Barcelona’s Decision to Snub Bernardo Silva

Barcelona sporting director Deco has revealed the two key reasons why the club decided not to sign Bernardo Silva during the summer transfer window.

The 32-year-old departed Manchester City as a free agent after nine years of impeccable service and Camp Nou was long touted as his most likely destination. However, despite links with both Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, he ended up joining their rivals Real Madrid.

Deco has revealed that Barça were in discussion with the Portugal international over a possible move, but the player’s demands proved a major stumbling block in negotiations, as well as the fact that La Blaugrana weren’t looking for a player of Silva’s profile.

“It wasn’t the position we were looking for, given his profile,” Deco told MARCA. “He’s a fantastic player, he plays for my national team. He’s been one of the best in the world in recent years, but the position wasn’t what we were looking for.

“We heard he wanted to come, and with his level of play, he was always going to be an asset. But then things didn’t work out because we can’t go beyond our initial expectations. If you want to come, that’s how it is. We don’t tell a player whether he’s going to play or not.”

Barcelona Justified in Prioritizing Rodri Deal

Barcelona’s decision to walk away from a transfer for Silva was ultimately vindicated by their acquisition of Rodri, who had been strongly linked with Real Madrid before moving to Catalonia.

“At first we thought he wouldn’t leave City, that it was impossible,” Deco added when quizzed about signing the World Cup winner. “The moment we heard he might leave, the first thing we did was call the sporting director to confirm the information.

“He told me that they had presented him with a contract extension, but that if he decided to leave, it would be difficult to stop him because of his history at the club. The manager said go ahead and we started working on it.”

Spending $88 million on an injury-prone 30-year-old is generally not the wisest transfer strategy, but Barça were more than willing to spend the sum on Rodri given the quality he would provide.

Hansi Flick was already inundated with fantastic midfielders, but Rodri offers something unique in the No. 6 position. The Spaniard’s experience, tenacity and defensive intelligence will undoubtedly boost Barça, especially while Frenkie de Jong is injured.

Rodri makes a menacing side even stronger and could prove instrumental to the club achieving their ultimate ambition this season: winning the Champions League for the first time since 2015.

Add us as a preferred source on Google