Bernardo Silva will bring his glittering nine-year spell at Manchester City to a close at the end of the 2025-26 season, with assistant manager Pep Lijnders confirming the captain will depart when his contract expires in June.
The 31-year-old leaves as one of the defining figures of City’s most dominant era, a player who blended elegance with endurance to become indispensable under Pep Guardiola.
Signed from AS Monaco in 2017 for around 43.5 million pounds ($57.35 million), Silva has made roughly 450 appearances, evolving from a clever wide playmaker into a complete midfielder trusted in every phase of the game.
His medal haul tells part of the story: six Premier League titles, the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League crown, multiple domestic cups and, most recently, another League Cup triumph that keeps City on course for a potential domestic treble this season.
His influence, though, runs deeper than silverware.
Silva’s intelligence, relentless pressing and positional fluidity made him the tactical glue in Guardiola’s system, often tasked with solving problems others could not.
Confirmation of his departure came in the wake of City’s commanding 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool, where Erling Haaland struck a hat trick to send City into the semifinals.
With Guardiola serving a touchline suspension, Lijnders addressed Silva’s future with a tone that matched the moment.
“Every good story comes to an end,” he said. “There are only six weeks left. He deserves a proper farewell.”
Guardiola has long labeled Silva “irreplaceable,” and the sentiment is shared across the club.
Few players have matched his consistency or his willingness to adapt, whether operating deep in midfield, drifting wide, or pressing high to disrupt opponents.
City remain firmly in the hunt for more silverware in Silva’s final weeks.
They have already secured the League Cup and are through to the FA Cup semifinals, while in the Premier League, they trail leaders Arsenal by nine points with a game in hand and eight matches remaining. The title race remains alive, if increasingly tense.
Behind the scenes, Silva’s decision had been settled earlier in the season.
Personal considerations and a desire to focus on his international future with Portugal ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup are understood to have shaped the move. With more than 100 caps, he remains central to his national side’s ambitions.
His exit closes a chapter defined by precision, resilience and quiet leadership. In a team full of stars, Silva was often the one who made everything function.
Replacing him may prove impossible, as Guardiola and his staff have already suggested.
