Manchester City player Bernardo Silva plans to change teams at the end of the current season. After the World Cup, the midfielder wants to leave the English club and try his luck in Spain, according to reports.

According to Defensa Central, his agent has called Real Madrid and FC Barcelona to offer his client to them. While Barcelona president Joan Laporta is not closing the door on signing the player, Real Madrid's Florentino Perez has been more reluctant to make room for the 31-year-old (he will turn 32 in the summer).

Jorge Mendes, Bernardo Silva's agent, is working behind the scenes to try to get his client to sign with one of the big European clubs competing for the Champions League. A feat he achieved at Manchester City three years ago, but that has not prevented Real Madrid from eliminating his team early in the top European competition in the past two seasons. The Portuguese player, after a long time at the Etihad, wants a new challenge.

Real Madrid has great respect for Jorge Mendes and Bernardo Silva, and Florentino Perez listened politely to the player's offer to wear the Madrid jersey and promised to think it over. However, the Madrid president is not convinced about this potential operation for different reasons: performance, age, and salary.

Bernardo's Champions League elimination against Real Madrid was nothing special, something that works against him. And at nearly 32 years old with an exorbitant salary, he does not fit at Chamartin.

For its part, FC Barcelona does view the potential signing of the Portuguese as an interesting option. Laporta believes he could still deliver some good years at Camp Nou, and combined with his recent good relationship with Mendes, he seems willing to make room on the roster for the veteran player. A signing that, however, would cut into the development of young players at La Masia, whom the club publicly boasts about.

Real Madrid's plan for next season is heading in a different direction. It is true that the Spanish club wants to sign a midfielder for next season, but the idea is to sign a player who is more involved in the foundation of the game.

A signing that, on the other hand, could be halted by Thiago Pitarch's emergence into the first team. In Bernardo Silva's case, he plays closer to the penalty area, typically on the right wing, and there are already several players like him at Real Madrid.

Players like Mastantuono, Arda Guler, or Brahim Diaz can perform the same functions that Bernardo Silva would, at a salary in line with the club's wage structure and with much greater future potential.

No one doubts that Bernardo Silva is a great player, but at the Bernabeu, they are clear that his best years are behind him and that signing him now would make little sense.

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