Barcelona: Club chief shuts down Xavi's dream of signing Bernardo Silva

Xavi Hernandez's dream signing of the summer, Bernardo Silva, will not be moving to the Camp Nou. Manchester City have no intention of allowing the Portuguese midfielder to leave and have confirmed that he will remain at the Etihad Stadium for the foreseeable future.

Football Club Barcelona had identified Silva as an ideal replacement for Frenkie de Jong. The Netherlands international is wanted by Manchester United and Chelsea, but remains adamant about continuing his journey with the Catalan capital club.

The Spanish club have tried their best to convince De Jong to leave, and will continue to do so until the end of the transfer window. United and Chelsea are expected to make renewed efforts to sign the Dutch midfielder in the hopes of convincing him to move to England.

However, Barcelona could now hold back on selling the Dutch midfielder after it was confirmed that the Portugal international will not be available this summer. City had dismissed reports of a £67.6 million agreement with the Catalan outfit earlier in the month, with Pep Guardiola not keen to part with Silva.

The Premier League club's CEO Ferran Soriano was recently asked by Spain's El Chiringuito TV if Silva will remain at City beyond this summer. The 55-year-old put an end to the speculations by answering in the affirmative, saying: "Of course, Bernardo Silva stays."

Silva, meanwhile, has also reiterated his commitment to Guardiola's team amid talks that he is keen to join Xavi's revolution at Barcelona. The 28-year-old came off the bench in the opening two games of the season, but returned to the starting lineup for City's 3-3 draw against Newcastle United on Sunday.

"It's a club that loves me, and it's a club that I love. I will always give everything for this club and this year will be the same," Silva told Eleven Portugal. "I'm happy at Manchester City. I'll try to do my best to help the team. I'm very concentrated."

As per Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, Xavi continues to dream about signing Silva. However, it is unlikely City will allow one of their key players to leave in the final week of the summer transfer window without bringing in an able replacement.