Manchester City takes on FC Barcelona today in a friendly at the Camp Nou. Numerous storylines surround this exhibition match so let’s dive straight in, with the latest on the Bernardo Silva transfer saga. CEO Ferran Soriano says it is too late in the summer transfer window to discuss selling B. Silva to Barcelona. While Bernardo has admitted in the media that his future is uncertain, City just won’t let him leave so close to deadline day, when they don’t have a replacement lined up already.
“A lot has been said (about this transfer saga) but in the background there has never been any movement,” Soriano said to Cadena Ser earlier today. “And now it is a little late to start discussing ins and outs.”
Silva had already asked to leave the club last summer, so this situation is kind of getting ridiculous here.
Elsewhere the quest for the Holy Grail of all trophies, at least from a Man City standpoint, begins this week as the groupings for the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League will be announced live Thursday at 12PM ET.
Held in Istanbul, Turkey, the Champions League draw will feature 32 teams being split into four seeding pots. UCL Fixtures will be confirmed after the draw for an eight-week long group stage that will begin on September 6. Here’s how to watch:
Stream the UEFA Champions League group stage draw live Thursday at 12PM ET on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
City (or maybe Paris Saint-Germain) are the most successful club not to have ever won it.
So, you may be asking yourself, why are City and Barcelona playing a friendly? And now of all times when the Sky Blues are already three matches into their league season (two for Barca)? Both clubs even traveled to the United States this summer, where they staged preseason friendlies. But this match is for a worthy cause that is close to City manager Pep Guardiola’s heart as well as all those at the Catalan club.
Proceeds raised from this match will benefit the fight against ALS.
And it will be a very emotional homecoming for Guardiola tonight, as it will give him a chance to reflect on all that he accomplished in his homeland, and at Barca.
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”