Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has claimed that he will not stand in the way of Bernardo Silva if he wants to join Barcelona, and the situation could impact AC Milan.
Guardiola spoke during his pre-match press conference ahead of City’s opening game of the season against West Ham United and he was quizzed on what the future might hold for Bernardo Silva as he continues to be linked with a move the Barca.
“I would love for Bernardo to continue here, a very special player in the locker room. But I don’t know what will happen. What happens will happen, if he stays is perfect, if he has to leave it’s because football is like this,” he said (via Sportskeeda).
“Players have desire and I’m not a person to stop a person desire in life. A football career is so short. I’m a small part of the club, I have to speak to the club, they decide and I say okay.”
How does this impact Milan? Well, as per Fabrizio Romano City chiefs view Lucas Paqueta as an option to replace to Portugal international if he does indeed swap Manchester for Catalonia. Paqueta was one of the stand-out stars in Ligue 1 last season and continues to attract interest from top clubs.
According to MilanLive among other sources, Milan will collect a percentage of the proceeds from a potential resale of Paqueta and the Ligue 1 side want €70m to sell the Brazilian. The Rossoneri will have the right to collect 15% of that sum, which would be €10.5m.