Bernardo Silva’s Saudi offer: how much have Al Hilal offered the Manchester City forward?
He may have just won the treble, but reports suggest that the Portuguese star could triple his wages with a move to the Saudi Pro League.
Bernardo Silva is reportedly considering a mammoth offer from Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal that would more than treble his current wage.
ESPN report that the Saudi club have offered Silva a deal worth close to £500,000 ($625,000) per week. This is more than three times his current deal, worth around £150,000 ($191,000) per week.
The report suggests that the Saudi club have already met with Silva’s agents in a bid to convince the 28-year-old to become the latest big-name player to move to the league.
Will Bernardo Silva leave Manchester City this summer?
Pep Guardiola is known for his propensity to change his team, but as Manchester City romped to a historic treble in 2022/23 the Spanish manager opted to keep a settled side.
City’s starting XI for the final months of the season almost always featured Silva on the right of a front three. His quality on the ball has never been in question but his ceaseless energy and intelligent pressing helped Guardiola’s sides to suffocate the opposition.
So will City really let him go? During his seven years at City Guardiola has proved surprisingly willing to part with important players. Joao Cancelo was loaned out to Bayern Munich in January and Ilkay Gundogan has already been allowed to move to Barcelona, after City refused to meet him contract demands.
Losing Silva would require a significant change to how City lineup in 2023/24, but don’t rule it out.
Who else plays for Al Hilal?
Al Hilal finished last season in third place; eight points behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and 13 points adrift of champions Al Ittihad. But despite that underwhelming finish Al Hilal are currently managed by former Sporting CP and Benfica head coach Jorge Jesus and are showing real intent in the transfer market.
They picked up Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly from Premier League side Chelsea and managed to complete the signing of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ highly-rated midfielder Ruben Neves. At 26, Neves is the youngest European star to have made the switch to Saudi Arabia this summer.
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Silva is not the only other name reportedly interest the Al Hilal hierarchy. Silva’s City teammate Riyad Mahrez is also thought to be a target, as is Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie.