Bernardo Silva sees PSG transfer offer turfed out by Manchester City but superstar's desire remains set

Paris Saint-Germain have had an initial offer for Bernardo Silva rejected by Manchester City as they attempt to secure the transfer of the Portugal international for a second successive summer. City hope to persuade Silva to change his mind on a move to France and extend his contract at the newly crowned European champions.

PSG - who are competing with offers from the Saudi Pro League and Barcelona for Silva's signature - have been told that the player's preference is to leave Manchester for Paris. Their pursuit has been led by the club's Football Advisor, Luis Campos, a close friend of Silva's who launched the midfielder's Champions League career by bringing him to AS Monaco in 2014.

City rejected an initial offer of €70million (currently £59.8m) from PSG last August, informing Silva that the bid arrived too late for them to secure a suitable replacement. Record Sport understands that City manager Pep Guardiola sought to assuage Silva's frustrations over the blocked deal by promising not to stand in the way of a transfer if the Portuguese chose to leave again this summer.

Recently described by Guardiola as “one of the best players I have trained in my life, ever”, Silva has won five Premier League titles across his six seasons at City, and was fundamental to the Abu Dhabi-owned club's first Champions League title. He is in the penultimate year of his current contract which pays a salary significantly lower than other key individuals in City's first team.

Silva, who married last month and is about to become a father for a first time, has often stated his interest in taking on a new challenge away from the Premier League. In a recent interview with Portuguese sports daily Record, he discussed his plan to take on “a new