Assistant coach Pep Lijnders announced that Bernardo Silva will leave Manchester City at the end of the season, and said that the team's captain deserves a good farewell.
It has long been predicted that this midfielder will leave when his contract expires in the summer, but he has not revealed it until Lijnders said that "all good stories have an ending". And the Portuguese international is in the final weeks of his playing time at the Etihad.
The Dutch coach believes that Silva cannot be replaced because he is a unique player. Therefore, his departure will leave a very large gap.
Lijnders said: "Every good story has an ending, and I hope he will enjoy the last months - only 6 weeks left - and have a good goodbye. He deserves all that attention".
Silva, who recently attracted interest from Juventus, was once a target of Barcelona and is said to want to move to an environment with a warmer climate than Manchester.
The 31-year-old player, who joined Man City from AS Monaco in 2017, is one of the most successful players in club history, with a treble and 19 titles. Including the 2023 Champions League title and six Premier League titles.
Appointed captain this season, he won his first title in that position when winning the Carabao Cup last month. Silva is the player with the most appearances under coach Pep Guardiola, with a milestone of 450 matches set in the 4-0 victory over Liverpool.
Lijnders admitted Man City will have difficulty finding a replacement and emphasized: "You cannot replace a player with someone exactly the same, because they do not exist. Bernardo Silva is unique - from the way he controls the game, moves, receives the ball to the ability to lead and find solutions".
He also believes that the team needs to focus on developing factors suitable for the system, including young players from the academy, instead of looking for a copy.
The important thing is that veteran players must continue to stick, and young players need to mature. But Bernardo Silva's absence will be clearly felt. Not just in one match, but maybe for the whole season" - Lijnders emphasized.
In a star-studded squad of The Citizens, maintaining a regular presence is not an easy challenge. However, Bernardo Silva has done something extraordinary when accumulating a total of 31,930 minutes of play after 451 appearances.
This is the highest number for any Man City player since he joined, showing that Silva is the "fix" in the continuous rotation system under Guardiola.
Not only bringing stability, Silva's presence also plays an important role in the defensive aspect. Among the matches he participated in, Man City has kept a clean sheet in 110 matches.
At Etihad, only goalkeeper Ederson is the only other player to reach the milestone of more than 100 clean sheets when appearing on the field. This is proof of Silva's comprehensive influence in the team's playing style.
Leaving Bernardo Silva, Man City not only lost one midfielder, but also lost an operating system that helped them operate smoothly for the past decade.
