Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season, according to assistant coach Pep Lijnders.
The Portuguese joined the Cityzens from AS Monaco in 2017 and is now expected to depart after nine years of sustained success at the club.
Silva has made 450 appearances for Man City, scoring 76 goals and has played a major role in the club’s dominance in the Premier League in recent years.
The 31-year-old has won 18 titles at the club, including the 2026 EFL Cup where they defeat Arsenal 2-0 about two weeks ago.
Lijnders who was at the touchline in Saturday’s win over Liverpool with Pep Guardiola handed a touchline ban, confirmed the news during an interview.
“You never replace a player with the same kind of player, because they don’t exist. Bernardo Silva is unique,” Lijnders said.
“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”, the former Liverpool assistant coach added.
“But the most important is that the seniors will stay for a long time, that they stay, that the core is there and around that you can move.
“It will be hard, because as I said, in the game, when he’s not playing, you will 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 is only six weeks, and he has a good farewell and he deserves all that attention as well”, he concluded.
Bernardo Silva will now focus on finishing the season strongly with the club, before making a decision on his future, although Barcelona looks certain to be his next destination.
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