Bernardo Silva to leave Man City: Captain to leave at end of season when contract expires, confirmed

Erling Haaland hailed team-mate Bernardo Silva as the “smartest player I’ve ever played with” as Manchester City confirmed the captain’s departure from the Etihad this summer.

The Portugal international, 31, won six Premier League titles and one Champions League during his nine seasons at City but will leave when his contract expires at the end of the current campaign.

His departure was first revealed by assistant manager Pep Lijnders after City’s 4-0 FA Cup win over Liverpool on April 4, with City confirming on Thursday that their captain will leave the club this summer.

He paid tribute to the long-serving midfielder, Haaland said air sports: “If you were to ask me what he’s really good at, it’s a bit hard to explain – the way he controls the game, the smarts, he’s probably the smartest player I’ve ever played with.

“Just the way he controls the game and everything. If you talk about his City career, the last nine years have been crazy. He’s won six Premier Leagues, look at his trophies, he’s won the Champions League.

“Look how important he was for us in the treble season. When he scored against Bayern, when he scored two against Real Madrid. It’s hard to find words because he’s been such an important figure for this club for the last nine years.

“And he also shaped the club with the way he was on and off the pitch.”

On Thursday, Silva confirmed his departure from the Etihad via his instagram account, paid a lengthy tribute to the club’s supporters, his team-mates and manager Pep Guardiola – who has been in charge throughout his stay in the north-west, saying he will be a “Man City supporter for life” once he officially leaves at the end of June.

He wrote: “When I got there nine years ago, I followed a dream of a little boy, who wanted to succeed in life, to achieve great things.

“This city and this club gave me much more than that, much more than I ever hoped for. What we won and achieved together is a legacy that will be cherished in my heart forever. The centurions, the domestic quadruple, the treble, the four in a row and much more… It wasn’t that bad!

“In a few months it will be time to say goodbye to the city where we not only won so much as a football club, but also where I started my marriage and my family. From the bottom of my heart, Ines and Carlota, thank you!

“To the fans, your unconditional support over the years is something I will never forget. My main goal as a player was to always play with passion so you can feel proud and well represented on the pitch. I hope you felt that every game.

“I arrived as a Man City player, I leave as another one of you, a Man City supporter for life. Keep supporting this young team and I’m pretty sure they will bring you many new fantastic memories in the future.

“To the club, Pep, the staff and all my teammates these nine years, thank you for all the memories and that I could be part of this journey for so long.

“The atmosphere we created every day in the training field made me feel at home and part of a big family. Let’s enjoy the last weeks together and fight for what this season still brings us.”

Lijnders issued a surprise announcement to confirm Silva’s rumored departure earlier in April, saying “every good story comes to an end”, as he admitted it would not be possible for the club to replace their captain.

“You never replace a player with the same kind of player because they don’t exist. Bernardo Silva is unique,” said Lijnders, who filled in for Pep Guardiola at the time due to the manager serving a borderline suspension.

The Dutchman added: “The way he controls games, how he moves, how he receives, how he leads, how he sees the solutions, all these things.

“You never look for a replacement of one type of player, you look for what is needed to grow with the team and someone who can fit into the first XI.

“And then you hope with our academy, with the young players we’ve already bought, that they can make that step in the midfield positions as well. But if you see our young boys in the academy, they have to make that step and grow.

“But the most important thing is that the seniors will stay for a long time, that they stay, that the core is there and around which you can move.

“But it will be difficult because like I said, in the game, when he’s not playing, you’ll see how he’s missed. And that’s one game. Imagine a season?

“But every good story comes to an end.

“I hope he enjoys the last months, it’s only six weeks, and he has a good farewell and he deserves all that attention too.”

Barca and Juve are still keen to sign Silva in the summer

Barcelona and Juventus remain among the clubs looking to sign Silva on a free transfer this summer.

Both clubs have been long-term admirers of the Portugal star, but they are not the only clubs interested and Silva is not thought to have made a final decision on his next club.

The 31-year-old has also long been linked with moves to Saudi Arabia or MLS in the United States.

Analysis: Man City’s unselfish maestro

It’s fitting that news of Silva’s impending exit is breaking now. After lifting the Carabao Cup at Wembley, he returned home to play a key role in helping dismantle Liverpool. It brought to mind Guardiola’s words after a 3-0 victory over the same team in November.

“He is a master,” Guardiola said after that particular performance. “The tempo, winning the ball, accelerating, slowing down, the intuition (to know) where the space is, how to manage the situations and so many things. He is one of the smartest players I have ever met.”

This is how City fans will remember the diminutive midfielder. They will remember the moments of quality that, combined with his endless work rate, made him formidable. Whether deep in midfield or on the wing, he had the answers for his team.

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.

His attitude became a symbol of what Guardiola wanted City to be. Technically skilled, of course, but also incomprehensibly hungry. A worker who put the team before himself. Even when things didn’t go well. Guardiola will never forget that part.

He spoke earlier this season and made that point loud and clear to reporters. “Bernardo struggled last season. But he was there. Every. Single. Match. Exhausted. After 50 or 60 minutes (of matches last season), he couldn’t run another minute,” he explained.

“At certain moments he said: ‘Pep, I’m exhausted. My thoughts are not (there) anymore, the feet.’ But he was there. And I told my players many times, and told him, it will not be forgotten. That’s why he’s my captain. Because in the bad moments he was there.”

There were far more good moments than bad as Silva affects 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 captaincy of 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 the most important single of his life.

Chalana, himself a 5’5″ player, told the teenage Bernardo not to be disheartened by his lack of minutes at the academy as he would go on to be better than all of them. One remembers him talking to Benfica coach Joao Tralhao about how it all changed.

“He had to change his mentality,” Tralhao explained. “Professional football will put a lot of obstacles in front of you and you can’t give up, you have to perform. He had to understand what he could work on and what he couldn’t work on.” It worked.

Despite his small frame, Silva has turned himself into a running machine, a rugged figure like few others in the game, leading the press for City and setting the tone. Silva, a favorite of his teammates and of the fans, did not need recognition that Ballon d’Or.

He talked to him about this in the summer of 2024 and listened patiently when this journalist asked him that question about football’s individual prices. I thought about the question. And then made it very clear just where those trinkets stand for him.

“In my opinion, I give the right amount of importance to these awards,” he said eloquently. “Because at the end of the day we play a collective sport. These days the individual awards always go to the strikers because they have that final touch.”

He added: “When I look at individual awards and see that only the guys who score are winning the awards, I feel a little bit like it doesn’t represent our sport that well.” For Silva, City’s unselfish maestro, it’s always the team. But that makes him a special individual.