Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, will not stand in the way of Bernardo Silva joining Barcelona before the end of the transfer window.

Guardiola stated that no bid from his former club has been made for the Portuguese midfielder, but he will not keep Silva in Manchester against his will.

Despite 1.3 billion euros in debt, Barcelona has gone on a spending spree this summer and will reportedly turn their attention to Silva if Frenkie de Jong leaves the Camp Nou.

This summer, City allowed Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to join Arsenal and sold Raheem Sterling to Chelsea as all three sought more regular playing time.

Silva, on the other hand, has been a key figure in City's four Premier League titles in the last five seasons and would be difficult to replace in the final weeks of the transfer window.

"I was comfortable working with Oleks, Raheem, Gabriel, incredible characters who helped us achieve what we achieved," Guardiola said ahead of City's Premier League defense opener against West Ham on Sunday.

"Sometimes you have to divide our path for the club, sometimes for the players, sometimes for the agent.

"The desire of the player is the most important factor." Of course, I'd like Bernardo to stay because he's a special player for us. But I'm not sure what will happen.

"Whatever happens, happens, and if he stays, it's perfect; if he has to leave, it's because football is like that, the player has a desire." I will not be the person to put a stop to people's desires."

Despite the departures from the Etihad over the summer, the City squad appears to be stronger than ever, thanks to the addition of Erling Haaland to fill the void left by a natural striker.

Last weekend, the Norwegian superstar had a debut to forget, missing a glorious chance near the end of a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Community Shield.

Guardiola, on the other hand, dismissed the notion that Haaland will struggle to adapt to City's possession-based style.

"He adapts to how we play, and we adapt to him," he added. It will take some time, but I have no doubts that it will happen."

Last season, City won the Premier League title by a single point over Liverpool for the second time in four years.

At the top of the table, another tight battle between those two is expected.

However, Tottenham and Arsenal have made significant investments to try to close the gap, and Chelsea and Manchester United are expected to be active in the final weeks of the window.

"Every year, I have the feeling that this season is going to be more difficult," Guardiola said.

"Everyone is improving; every club, every owner invests." Many teams do it well; the quality is there, and the managers are outstanding.

"That's what makes it exciting, and why the Premier League is the best."