Lionel Messi is reportedly interested in the idea of Inter Miami signing a Manchester City star after his contract expires this summer.
On Wednesday night, Alvaro Arbeloa’s Real Madrid were too good for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, with the 15-time European champions winning convincingly 3-0 thanks to a Federico Valverde hat-trick in the first half of the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Uruguayan’s heroics have left City with a mountain to climb in the return leg scheduled for next Tuesday (March 17) at the Etihad.
And the return leg could be Bernardo Silva’s last Champions League game for City, with Inter Miami reportedly keen to sign the Portuguese midfielder when his current contract expires this summer.
According to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport , the MLS champions face competition from Juventus and Silva’s former club Benfica, for whom he made three appearances before joining AS Monaco in 2015. Turkish giants Galatasaray are also thought to be monitoring the player’s situation.
The 31-year-old has won every major trophy possible at City – the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League and Club World Cup – and is likely to strengthen the squads of the three teams said to be interested in him, given his experience at the highest level.
And Silva’s consistency over the past decade has impressed Inter Miami star Messi, who is said to have given his approval to the transfer, according to Spanish newspaper Marca .
If Silva were to join Inter Miami, he would link up with former Premier League stars Sergio Reguilon and Luis Suarez, as well as Messi and former Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodrigo De Paul.
According to Capology, Silva currently earns £375,000 a week – equivalent to £19.5m a year – meaning he would likely have to accept a pay cut if he joined Inter Miami, with Messi currently the club’s highest-paid player on up to £60m a year.