Manchester City captain and midfielder Bernardo Silva will leave the club at the end of the 2025/26 season, assistant head coach Pep Leinders confirmed at a press conference.
Silva will leave City as a free agent when his contract expires at the end of the season. The Portuguese joined City from Monaco in 2017 for a fee of $57 million. Leinders confirmed that the captain will leave the club after nine years.
“Every good story has an end,” Leinders was quoted as saying by Reuters. “I hope he enjoys his last few months – there are only six weeks left – and says goodbye to the club. He deserves all this attention.”
The coach made the statement about the Portuguese's future after Manchester City's crushing victory in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup over Liverpool (4:0). Bernardo started the match and played the full 90 minutes.
City manager Pep Guardiola has previously described Silva as “indispensable”. The midfielder has made 450 appearances for the club since 2017, scoring 76 goals and providing 77 assists in all competitions.
In his final season with the club, Silva remains a key player for City, starting 36 of his 46 matches in all competitions, most of them as captain, scoring three goals and providing five assists in the opening campaign.
According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, clubs from Europe, Saudi Arabia and the American MLS are interested in the Portuguese. Silva plans to choose his next club after his contract with City expires.
Bernardo will leave the club before the 2026 World Cup, where he will make his third appearance for Portugal. Silva remains a key player for the national team, having played in five qualifying matches (1 goal + 1 assist).
Bernardo Silva: what is known about the football player?
- 31-year-old Portuguese midfielder for Manchester City and the Portugal national team.
- He began his career at Benfica's academy, where he played for the second team. In the 2014/15 season, Silva played on loan at Monaco, after which he made a full transfer to the French club and spent two more seasons there.
- Silva spent the longest time at Manchester City, winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2023.
- He has played for the Portuguese national team since 2015 (107 matches, 14 goals). He won two Nations League titles with the team (2019, 2025). He was the bronze medalist of the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017.
Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Real Madrid (1:5) on aggregate. The team then won the English League Cup against Arsenal (2:0). Man City are nine points behind the Gunners at the top of the Premier League with seven rounds remaining in the league season.
The next match of the “Cities” will take place in the 32nd round of the Premier League against “Chelsea” on Sunday, April 12. The start is at 18:30 Kyiv time.