Man City assistant manager Pep Lijnders has all but confirmed that Bernardo Silva will be leaving the Etihad at the end of the season.

The Portuguese international’s contract expires in June, and Lijnders has said that he is irreplaceable:

“You never replace a player with the same kind of player because they don’t exist. Bernardo Silva is unique. 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.”

“But it will be hard because, as I said, in the game, when he is not playing, you will see how he is missed – and that’s one game. Imagine a season. But every good story comes to an end, and I hope he enjoys the last months – there are only six weeks – and has a good farewell. He deserves all that attention as well.”

Which club could Silva join?

Sky Sports report that Juventus and Barcelona lead the race to snap up the 31-year-old on a free transfer.

However, a return to former club Benfica cannot be ruled out, while Saudi Pro League sides and MLS clubs are also believed to be circling.

The curtain will come down on a trophy-laden Man City career

Silva joined City in the summer of 2017. Since then, he has won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five Carabao Cups, three Community Shields, the FIFA Club World Cup and the Champions League. That’s a total of 18 major honours over nine seasons, and he could still make that 20 before this campaign is over.

Pep Guardiola’s side are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, after beating Liverpool on Saturday, and they are still hoping to chase down Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

Want more news on Man City? Add Man City News as a preferred source on Google