If you thought the annual rumours of Bernardo Silva's future ended with his contract extension last summer, think again.
Bernardo has regularly been connected with an exit from Manchester City, with a long-held stance that he would like to move somewhere with a warmer climate than Manchester, and closer to his roots in Portugal.
City have never stood in Bernardo's way, insisting that should an acceptable offer come in, he will be allowed to leave. That is in keeping with other senior players, but with no club meeting City's valuation, Bernardo has remained in Manchester and been the ultimate professional each year that he doesn't get his move.
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Bernardo's contract last summer saw him pen a new deal until 2026, with his previous contract set to expire this summer. At the time, he said: “Success makes you want even more, and this Club gives me that opportunity to keep on winning. I love the manager, my team-mates and the fans and hope we can share even more great memories in the coming years.”
However, the contract extension reportedly includes a €50m release clause to allow him to leave this summer if there is an offer, prompting the new wave of reports of a potential exit. Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona were interested last year and are both linked with Bernardo again.
Pep Guardiola referenced Barcelona's interest, saying: "I want to clarify that I said I don't want any player who doesn't want to be here. But we have to get an offer, we didn't get a proper offer. so that's why. He's our player, we want him and if they [Barcelona] want him they will take a plane, they will come here and they will talk with our sporting director and CEO to arrive to an agreement."
There was also interest from Saudi Arabia, but Bernardo said he ultimately opted against a lucrative move to the Middle East. “It would be a lie to say I didn’t think about it," he said.
“But I want to play in the Champions League semi-finals, score against Real Madrid, win the Champions League, I don’t want to give up on that.”
The 29-year-old has been clear on his desire to play elsewhere in future, and spoke again in December of his long-term intention to return to boyhood club Benfica to end his career.
"I've never hidden that one day I want to go back, so of course I do," he told A Bola. "Now, we'll see over time what's possible and it's not worth talking about this all the time, because people get tired... Let's see."
"We talk more and more [about his future] and it becomes a bit repetitive. I realise that people get tired too. But since I'm asked this question so many times, I'm not going to lie. I always say: it's a reality that I want to return to [Benfica] and I hope that one day it can happen."
However, Bernardo accepts that City will want to generate an acceptable fee for his services, saying: "Even if I I wanted to go to Benfica at the moment it was totally impossible because Manchester City is asking for a lot of money for a transfer for me." He added that a return to Benfica was only likely at the end of his City contract, or on a free transfer.
