It appears that FC Barcelona are in for a rather painstaking month of August when it comes to negotiating for the players that coach Xavi Hernandez considers absolute necessities for his squad in terms of the upcoming 2023/2024 season.
The departures of French winger Ousmane Dembele and Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessie, along with potentially French defender Clement Lenglet soon joining them as well, were in part executed to generate additional funds that could be used to allocate them towards new arrivals.
It was only recently that Barcelona had finally sent official proposals for both Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo to Manchester City, as they remain Xavi’s priority summer targets, and it appears that the Catalans have already received the response from the Citizens.
As per Spanish outlet SPORT, English Premier League outfit Manchester City has rejected the proposal sent by Barcelona for both the 28-year-old midfielder and the 29-year-old fullback.
The offer is speculated to have been a proposal for a season-long loan for both stars, after which a mandatory purchase clause would be triggered in the case of the Portuguese midfielder and Barcelona would consequently pay €70 million to retain his services permanently.
However, it appears that the proposal in question was not exactly to City’s liking and they have thus rejected it. Moreover, it appears that they will be extremely tough customers to convince so that they would be open to letting their stars, especially Bernardo Silva, depart to Barcelona.
Many things now also rest on the pressure that the midfielder himself is able to put on his current club in order to advance his move to Barcelona, as the Catalans continue to formalize negotiations but they also expect the Portuguese star to make an effort on his part as well on the ongoing operation to bring him over to Catalonia.
