Bernardo Silva to leave Man City: Captain to exit at the end of the season when contract is up, it has been confirmed

Erling Haaland has hailed team-mate Bernardo Silva as the "smartest player I have ever played with" as Manchester City confirmed the skipper's departure from the Etihad this summer.

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.

His departure was first revealed by assistant manager Pep Lijnders following 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.

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Paying tribute to the long-serving midfielder, Haaland told Sky Sports: "If you would ask me what he's really good at, it's a bit difficult to explain - the way he controls the game, the smartness, he's probably the smartest player I've ever played with.

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

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

"And he's also been shaping the club with the way he's been on the pitch and off the pitch."

Silva confirmed his departure from the Etihad on Thursday via his Instagram account, penning a lengthy tribute to the club's fans, his team-mates and manager Pep Guardiola - who has been in charge throughout his stay in the north west, and said he will be a "Man City supporter for life" once he officially leaves at the end of June.

He wrote: "When I arrived nine years ago, I was following a dream of a little boy, wanting to succeed in life, wanting 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 forever be cherished in my heart. 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's time to say goodbye to the city where not only we 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 throughout the years is something that I will never forget. My main goal as a player was to always play with passion so you guys could feel proud and well represented on the pitch. I hope you felt that every single game.

"I arrived as a Man City player, I leave as one more of you, a Man City supporter for life. Keep supporting this young team and I'm pretty sure they will bring you a lot of 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 for letting me be a part of this journey for so long.

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

Lijnders issued a surprise announcement to confirm Silva's rumoured departure earlier in April, saying "every good story comes to an end" as he acknowledged 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 at the time 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.

"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.

"But 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."

Barca & Juve still keen on summer move for Silva

Barcelona and Juventus remain among the clubs who want 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 yet on his next club.

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

Analysis: 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.

His attitude became a symbol of what Guardiola wanted City to be. Technically proficient, of course, but hungry beyond belief too. A worker who put the team before himself. Even when things were not going well. Guardiola will never forget that part.

Speaking earlier this season, he made that point loud and clear to reporters. "Bernardo struggled last season. But he was there. Every. Single. Game. Exhausted. After 50 or 60 minutes [of matches last season], he could not run one more minute," he explained.

"At certain moments, he said, 'Pep, I'm drained. My mind is not [there] any more, the feet.' But he was there. And I said many times to my players, and to him, that will not be forgotten. That is why he is my captain. Because in the bad moments, he was there."

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.

Chalana, a 5'5" player himself, told the teenage Bernardo not to be disheartened by his lack of minutes at the academy because he would go on to be better than all of them. One recalls speaking to Benfica coach Joao Tralhao about how this changed everything.

"He needed to change his mentality," Tralhao explained. "Professional football will put many obstacles in front of you and you cannot give up, you have to step up. He needed to understand what he could work on and what he could not work on." It worked.

Despite his tiny frame, Silva turned himself into a running machine, a robust figure like few others in the game, leading the press for City, setting the tone. A favourite of his team-mates and of the fans, Silva did not need that Ballon d'Or recognition.

Speaking to him about this in the summer of 2024, he listened patiently when this journalist put that question of football's individual prizes to him. He thought about the question. And then made it very obvious just where those trinkets rank for him.

"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.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Bernardo Silva to leave Man City: Captain to exit at the end of the season when contract is up, it has been confirmed