From France: How Manchester City's Bernardo Silva affected the future of Kylian Mbappe at PSG

For the majority of last summer, Bernardo Silva was linked with a move to Barcelona from Manchester City.

It was claimed that despite the Portuguese international coming off the back of a fruitful season at the Etihad Stadium, he was keen on a new challenge in his career.

Barcelona boss Xavi was reported to have been eyeing the midfield maestro as the ideal signing to accelerate his encouraging project at the Spotify Camp Nou.

With Frenkie de Jong looking set to join either Manchester United or Chelsea, it seemed as if the 28-year-old would be brought in as a potential replacement.

However, the Catalan side found it a challenge to execute the Dutchman’s sale, which prompted Paris Saint-Germain to try their luck at prising away Bernardo Silva.

The French powerhouse were reported to have been confident about getting a deal over the line for the four-time Premier League champion for two key reasons.

Firstly, the club had hired sporting director, Luis Campos in the summer - the man who was responsible for signing Bernardo Silva from Benfica at AS Monaco.

With the pair having enjoyed a successful working relationship in the past, the Parisians were said to have felt that this factor could prove key in their pursuit of the in-demand attacker.

Manchester City's Bernardo Silva (Twitter)

Secondly, Barcelona’s financial crisis prompted Christophe Galtier’s side to feel that they could outbid the Spanish giants in order to get the former Ligue 1 winner to the Parc des Princes.

As the move failed to come to fruition, it has now been claimed that this very factor could prove key in Kylian Mbappe’s future at the club.

According to information provided by Romain Molina, as translated and relayed by Get French Football News, the World Cup winner was promised that Bernardo Silva would become a PSG player during his contract extension talks this summer.

Other such names included Robert Lewandowski and Milan Skriniar - both of whom chose not to sign for the French side.

With Molina having stated that Mbappe felt betrayed by his hometown club - which is why he aims to bid farewell to the side at some stage in the near future - Bernardo Silva most certainly seems to have played a hand in his desire to cut ties with the side.

Bernardo Silva in action for Manchester City.

Back over at Manchester City, Silva and his teammates will be looking towards bouncing back from a disappointing outing at the weekend.

Pep Guardiola's Premier League champions fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool, bringing an end to their unbeaten start to the new season.

That defeat puts them four points behind the current league leaders Arsenal, with City's next English top-flight clash coming next Saturday against Brighton.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on the sideline during the Premier League match at Anfield (PA Images/Alamy)