Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The Portugal midfielder, 31, has scored 76 goals and made 77 assists in 451 appearances for City since joining from Monaco in 2017.

Last month’s Carabao Cup victory was his 15th major honour with City, including the Treble in 2022-23.

Silva also helped City win the Premier League title with 100 points in 2017-18, all four domestic trophies in 2018-19 and four consecutive league titles between 2021 and 2024.

“What we won and achieved together is a legacy that will forever be cherished in my heart,” he said on Instagram., external

“The Centurions, the domestic quadruple, the Treble, the four in a row and much more. It wasn’t that bad.”

Silva is the only player from City’s modern era in the top 10 of the club’s all-time appearances list and is currently joint-eighth with Mike Summerbee.

He was named club captain following the departure of Kevin de Bruyne at the end of last season and has won six Premier League titles in his first eight seasons with City.

The Blues are currently second in the league and play Southampton in the FA Cup semi-finals on 25 April.

“My main goal as a player was to always play with passion so you guys (the fans) could feel proud and well represented on the pitch,” Silva added. “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. Let’s enjoy together these last weeks and fight for what this season still brings us.”

Another long-time City servant is set to depart the Etihad.

Since joining City, Silva has been alongside Pep Guardiola every step of the way and has become the manager’s most trusted lieutenant and his voice on the field.

Once an attacking midfielder, the Portuguese has dropped deeper into a more defensive role, and his high workrate was on show during Sunday’s statement win at Chelsea.

Silva may not have the number of goals and assists Kevin de Bruyne supplied for City, but he was handed the captain’s armband in the summer for “always being there” last season, when they failed to win a major trophy.

And Silva led the side to March’s Carabao Cup triumph over Arsenal to end that barren run, climbing the steps at Wembley to lift a remarkable 19th piece of silverware at the club.

When sitting in for Guardiola following the FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool earlier this month, his assistant Pep Lijnders said “every story comes to an end”.

Guardiola subsequently said Silva had not yet told him what decision he had made on his future, but his departure has now been confirmed and he will spend the final few weeks of the season trying to win a domestic treble and further cement his status as an undoubted City great. (BBC)