After nine years and more than 450 appearances, Bernardo Silva will bring his glittering Manchester City career to a close at the end of the season. The 31-year-old, who joined City from AS Monaco for what now looks a modest £43m in 2017, confirmed on Thursday that he will leave the club when his current contract expires this summer. During his time at the Etihad, Silva has won 19 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and the club's first Champions League trophy.
He could still add to that tally before his departure at the end of May, with Pep Guardiola's side still chasing both Premier League and FA Cup success. But whatever the final weeks of the campaign may hold, Silva's legacy at City is already secure. He will be remembered alongside modern-day greats like Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and Kevin de Bruyne as one of the defining figures of the club's most successful era.
Here, BBC Sport takes a look at why Silva will go down as one of the greatest players to wear the Manchester City shirt. 'I leave as one more of you' - but how do Man City replace departing Silva? Captain Silva to leave Man City at end of season When Silva arrived at City in 2017, he joined a side that had won the Premier League only twice, with the most recent success coming three years earlier. Nine years on, though, Silva - now the second-longest serving player at the club - has helped transform City into a dominant force in the English game and played a central role in his side winning the Premier League title in six of the last eight seasons.
His first title success came in his debut campaign as City became the first side in Premier League history to amass 100 points in a 38-game season. In 2019, City's points tally of 98 was enough to pip Liverpool to the title by a single point in what is widely regarded as one of the greatest title races in English football history. Between 2021 and 2024, City and Silva made further history as they became the first team to win four consecutive titles.
Silva could yet win a seventh Premier League crown at the end of the season, with City still chasing Arsenal in the closing weeks of the season. The Portugal international has also helped turn City into a powerhouse on the European and International stage. In 2023, he produced arguably his finest performance in a City shirt during the Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid, when his first-half double helped City on their way to the final.
There, they went on to beat Inter Milan to win the trophy and, in doing so, complete a historic treble. At the time of writing, Silva has made 451 appearances for City - the seventh-most in the club's history - and contributed 76 goals and 77 assists. He is, in many ways, the perfect embodiment of Guardiola's City: a naturally gifted player whose talent is matched by a relentless and aggressive work rate.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
