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End of an era: Bernardo silva to leave Man City after 9 years
06th April, 2026 02:09 AM
Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva will leave the club at the end of the season.
The Portugal international, 31, has won six Premier League titles and one Champions League during his nine seasons with City, but will depart when his contract expires at the end of the current campaign.
Speaking in the press conference after City’s 4-0 FA Cup win over Liverpool on Saturday, assistant manager Pep Lijnders confirmed that “every good story comes to an end” and acknowledged that it will not be possible for the club to replace their skipper.
“You never replace a player with the same kind of player, because they don’t exist. Bernardo Silva is unique,” said Lijnders, who was filling in for Pep Guardiola due to the manager serving a touchline suspension.
The Dutchman added: “The way he controls games, the way he moves, the way he receives, the way he leads, the way he sees the solutions, all these things.
“You never search for a replacement of one type of player; you search for what is needed to grow with the team and somebody who can fit in the first XI.
“And then you hope with our academy, with the young players we already bought, that they can make that step as well in the midfield positions. But if you see our young boys in the academy, they have to make that step and to grow.
Man City’s unselfish maestro
It is fitting that news of Silva’s impending exit breaks now. After lifting the Carabao Cup at Wembley, he returned home to play a key role in helping to dismantle Liverpool. It brought to mind Guardiola’s words after a 3-0 win over the same side in November.
“He is a master,” said Guardiola after that particular display. “The tempo, winning the ball, accelerate, decelerate, the intuition [to know] where the space is, how to manage the situations, and so many things. He is one of the most clever players I have ever met.”
That is how City supporters will remember the diminutive midfielder. They will recall the moments of quality that, when combined with his endless work rate, made him formidable. Whether deep in midfield or on the wing, he had the answers for his side.
Guardiola has long adored him. After that first trophyless season in charge, it was the signing of Ederson in goal and the introduction of Kyle Walker’s pace at the back that are often cited as turning points in the summer of 2017. But the arrival of Bernardo was big.
There have been many more good moments than bad because Silva influences games with his attitude as well as his ability. When he was at Monaco, he helped them beat Paris Saint-Germain to the title. He even won a league captaining Benfica’s B team.
Interestingly, his mentality was not always what it is now. Silva himself credits the influence of Fernando Chalana at Benfica’s academy for opening his eyes. The player would later describe that conversation as being the single most important of his life.
“In my opinion, I give the right amount of importance to these awards,” he said, tellingly. “Because, at the end of the day, we are playing a collective sport. Nowadays, the individual awards always go to the strikers because they have that last touch.”
He added, “When I look at individual awards and see that only the guys who score win the awards, I feel a bit like it does not represent our sport that well.” For Silva, City’s unselfish maestro, it is always the team. But that makes him a special individual.
