Real Madrid surprisingly joins race with Barcelona to sign Manchester City midfielder | OneFootball

English newspaper Daily Mail (h/t Fichajes) has claimed that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez would be willing to activate Bernardo Silva’s termination clause with Manchester City.

A couple of days back, we reported how Real Madrid have upped their interest in signing Bernardo, especially after his performance against them in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

The future of the Portuguese player at Manchester City has recently come under scrutiny, despite his contract with the Premier League champions extending until 2026 after he signed a new deal in August 2023.

The main reason for the interest in the City playmaker is his release clause of £50 million (€58 million), which has attracted attention not only from Real Madrid but also from clubs such as Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, and Arsenal.

Real Madrid thriving on Bernardo’s preference

It is suggested that although the former Monaco man is very much happy at Man City, if ever he is to leave, he wants to join a Spanish team.

Bernardo Silva is wanted by Real Madrid. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

This puts Real Madrid on par with Barcelona, although the latter can be effectively ruled out owning to their difficulties of complying with the Financial Fair Play regulation.

Right now, Barcelona are trying several methods to land the Portuguese, but if Real Madrid agree to pay the fee upfront, the team from Catalonia can say goodbye to their hopes of signing Bernardo.

As far as Real Madrid are concerned, they know they must look for a life beyond Luka Modric now. As of today, the Croatian wants to stay for another year but the decision lies within the club.

If Madrid part ways with Modric, a space will open up within the midfield and this is where Bernardo will come into the picture.

Basically, if the Man City midfielder is roped in, we can expect at least one departure from midfield this summer.