Bernado Silva To Leave Man City As Free Agent End Of Season
Bernardo Silva will leave Manchester City at the end of the season, bringing an end to a glittering nine-year spell with the Premier League champions.
The 31-year-old Portugal international, who has won six league titles and a UEFA Champions League during his time at the Etihad, is set to depart when his current contract expires at the end of the campaign, SkySports reports.
His impending exit was confirmed by assistant manager Pep Lijnders following City’s 4-0 FA Cup victory over Liverpool on Saturday, where he acknowledged both the player’s impact and the challenge of replacing him.
“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.
“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.”
Silva’s departure will mark the end of an era for City, with the midfielder widely regarded as one of the most intelligent and technically gifted players of the club’s modern dominance.
