Barcelona and Manchester City are two clubs who were always on good terms with each other in terms of business. There are many players who played for both the clubs, and although most players went from Barca to City, this year the tables have turned. The Citizens have been known to sign high-profile Catalans such as Yaya Toure, Claudio Bravo, and Eric Garcia. Even their world-renowned coach is a former Barcelona legend.
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Now, maybe it is time for the Blaugranas to take a few players from the English side to balance things out. Ronald Koeman has already managed to sign back Garcia, who was not happy with the lack of game time provided by Pep Guardiola, and they might go for a few more as well. Barcelona have been linked with current City and former Athletic Bilbao player Aymeric Laporte; however, he is not the only player the Catalans are going for.
Barcelona could sign more Manchester City stars
City are looking to offload a few players as they are anticipating a big transfer, and they have also targeted a Barca superstar as well. In order to comply with the Financial Fair Play rules, the Sky Blues will have to sell a few of their players in order to bring in their blockbuster signing, and thus players such as Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Laporte, and even Riyad Maharez could be sold in this transfer window.
With Daniel Levy confirming that Harry Kane will cost Pep more than 100 million euros, it is very likely that they will let the aforementioned players go. Reports suggest that Barcelona are interested in three of those players and thus today we will be discussing the likeliness of them joining, and the impact they can have on the team.
#3 Raheem Sterling
Manchester City bought Raheem Sterling from Liverpool in 2015, and has since gone on to win the Premier League three times, the League Cup five times, and the FA Cup once. He did so by scoring 114 goals in 292 appearances, he also provided 87 assists in the same amount of games. No doubt, the player is quite impactful for City however, recently Pep has been selecting him less frequently.
While the player did have a decent 2020/21 season, he was lacking consistency, and he failed to deliver in big games. His disastrous performance against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League Finals really showed us that the player failed to perform when it mattered the most. Thus, Pep is probably looking to sell him in order to raise some funds for their new striker.
According to Catalunya Radio host, Ramon Salmurri, Barcelona are interested in the player and value his skills; however, it is financially a bit difficult. They have not ruled the player out completely, and he would be a good challenge for Ousmane Dembele, who would need to perform more consistently to keep up with Raheem. The City winger would also bring in the winning mentality that the Barca team needs at the moment; however, all of these are speculations as of now.
#2 Bernardo Silva
Another important player whom City are willing to let go from their squad this season is Portuguese superstar, Bernardo Silva. The 26-year-old midfielder is a versatile player who can play all over the pitch, however, Pep likes to play him mostly as a central midfielder or an attacking midfielder.
He is not a goal scorer per se, he does not even get a lot of assists, however, his stats still fell down massively last year. He only managed to score five goals while providing only nine assists in all competitions. Compare that to his second season with the club where he got 14 assists and 13 goals, the numbers do seem a bit weak. However, this could also be due to his injury at the beginning of the season followed by Pep benching him in some games.
Clearly, there has been a fallout between the player and the manager, and City are now willing to let him go in order to bring in Kane, and Jack Grealish. Barcelona are interested in this situation and are keeping tabs on the player, however, nothing official has been announced so far. He would be a great addition to the team due to his proven winning record, as well as his versatile ability.
#3 Aymeric Laporte
Finally, the player who has publicly stated that he is in doubt about his career at Manchester City, Aymeric Laporte, would be a fantastic buy for Barcelona. The player has already confirmed that he is unhappy with the amount of time he is being allotted by the manager on the field. This means that the player would be up for a move, and every player would want to play for a prestigious club like Barcelona.
The Catalans have already been linked with him for a few weeks now, but nothing has progressed so far. According to Ramon Salmurri of Catalunya Ràdio, the Blaugrana would really like to sign a player of his experience and caliber; however, they would only have the funds to do so, if they sell both Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet. Both of those players are already transfer-listed by Barca and if they are sold this summer, then there is nothing stopping Laporte from joining the Catalans next season.
Which of these Man City stars should Barca consider signing?