PSG offered two players in swap deal for Bernardo Silva, Man City requested another star instead

Paris Saint-Germain offered two players in a swap deal for Bernardo Silva, it has been claimed.

Posted Sunday, September 10, 2023 by sportbible.com

In August, Silva signed a contract extension at Manchester City until 2026. The Portugal attacking midfielder, who joined City from Monaco in 2017, said he is staying at the club because it gives him "that opportunity to keep winning".

Silva has won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and the Champions League in his six years at the Etihad.

City fans would have breathed a collective sigh of relief upon Silva signing his extension, with PSG thought to have been close to agreeing a deal with the 29-year-old this summer.

As per Sky Sports Silva was one of PSG's top targets this summer, and the French giants thought they were close to a deal. Indeed, PSG sporting director Luis Campos knows Silva well with the pair having worked together at Monaco.

But Pep Guardiola is believed to have intervened to ensure Silva did not leave this summer.

PSG seemed determined to sign Silva. Indeed, according to CBS journalist Jonathan Johnson, the Ligue 1 side were prepared to include the likes of Marco Verratti and Gianluigi Donnarumma in a deal for the player.

However, City were more interested in receiving a significant transfer fee while also signing 17-year-old PSG starlet Warren Zaire-Emery.

Johnson wrote in Fabrizio Romano's Daily Briefings: "It's well documented that PSG wanted to sign Bernardo Silva, and Zaire-Emery was mentioned when an approach was made for Silva early in the summer.

"PSG were prepared to include the likes of Marco Verratti and Gianluigi Donnarumma in a deal for Silva, but City were more interested in acquiring someone like Zaire-Emery, as well as, of course, a significant amount of money.

"That didn't come to pass, and now it looks like the 17-year-old has a role to play for Luis Enrique.

"If you look since the start of the Ligue 1 season, Enrique has given Zaire-Emery a significant amount of playing time. It seems he's part of this settled midfield three, and he really is establishing himself as a generational talent and a big part of PSG's future."