Barcelona refused to meet Real Madrid-bound veteran’s exorbitant financial demands

Real Madrid have peculiarly followed Barcelona’s transfer targets all summer, beginning with Denzel Dumfries and Julian Alvarez to even Marc Cucurella.

The biggest one of them all, however, was Bernardo Silva who was said to have an agreement in place to move to Catalonia but went on to reportedly give his commitment to Real Madrid.

Los Blancos and the entire fanbase, needless to say, have milked the situation to the maximum to claim the dominance of their institution and badge over Barcelona, claiming that the player left it all to join Real Madrid when the chance arrived.

It all comes down to money

One of the speculated reasons for Silva picking Real Madrid over Barcelona despite his desire to don garnet-and-blue was the guarantee of minutes that the Madrid-based side provided him – something Barcelona could not under any circumstances.

Bernardo is headed to Real Madrid. (Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)

Now, however, El Confidencial (h/t FCBWorld) brings to light that the sporting reason was not the only factor behind his changed decision. The usual suspect, money, was involved too, and Real Madrid priced him out of Barcelona’s plans.

The Portuguese star reportedly demanded a salary of €20 million per season with a commission of €10 million to his agent Jorge Mendes and his father.

Further, he demanded a signing bonus of €10 million for his arrival over and above the aforementioned sums.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both rejected the claims, eventually leading to him joining the only club who were willing to shell out that price – Real Madrid.

A question of need

Barcelona were keen but refused to pay Bernardo’s demands. (Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)

While Silva would have indeed been a great backup midfielder and right-winger, Barcelona will not beat themselves up over missing out on his signature.

After all, the former Manchester City star was not a necessity in any capacity and it would have made no sense for Barcelona to stretch and accommodate his financial demands when there was no need.

The team already have a solid midfield core with Pedri, Dani Olmo, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Bernal and Fermin Lopez all shining bright. Gavi’s return from injury only adds to that list.

With the Silva dilemma now out of the way, Barcelona can make clearer decisions and focus on the positions that are in urgent need of signings. The centre-forward and central defence, at this point, appear to be under the spotlight as high-priority positions.