Barcelona president Joan Laporta has insisted that his side will not pay an astronomical fee to sign Manchester City playmaker Bernardo Silva.

The Portugal international was confirmed to be seeking a move away from the Etihad Stadium last year by Pep Guardiola, but he has remained on the books to continue to play an important role in sky blue.

Silva scored two goals and set up five more in 15 Premier League games for the English champions, taking his total for the club to 50 goals and 56 assists in 275 appearances.

The 28-year-old's contract with Guardiola's men runs until the summer of 2025, and links with Barcelona have begun to re-emerge, but City are supposedly after €80m (£70.8m) to sanction a sale.

With Barcelona still experiencing financial difficulties, president Laporta has told Cadena Ser that a move for Silva is out of the question, saying: "Bernardo Silva for 80 million will surely not come ... because we will not pay them."

Silva burst onto the scene at Monaco during their run to the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 2016-17, during which they eliminated Man City before the midfielder was brought to England.

The Portuguese has since 11 trophies during his time under Guardiola, winning four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, one FA Cup and two Community Shields since 2017.

However, during a recent interview with Record, Silva affirmed that he would consider moving onto a new project if the timing was right, while also insisting that he would continue to remain committed to Man City during his time there.

"I'm very focused on this season and it doesn't make sense to talk about leaving because we're in the middle of the season," the midfielder told the Portuguese outlet.

"I won't hide that my goal in the coming years, if something good happens elsewhere, will probably be to move to a new project."

Silva joined Benfica's youth academy in 2002 and only made three appearances for the club in 13 years before leaving for Monaco, but he intends to return to his boyhood team during the latter stages of his career.

"Going into a new project at the age of 29, I'll only finish this contract probably at 34," Silva added. "If you ask me: what did you think 10 years ago? My goal was to return to Benfica at the age of 32 at the most.

"What do I think today? It depends on what happens next summer. I'm not going to lie, it's not something I don't think about. I think about it every year. It has always been a goal."

Silva has started 13 Premier League games for Manchester City in the current campaign and could make his 14th when the champions take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening.

Victory for Guardiola's men would allow them to cut the gap to leaders Arsenal back down to five points after the Gunners were held to a 0-0 draw by Newcastle United on Tuesday. body check tags ::