Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva’s contract expires at the end of the season and he seems determined to go out of the Etihad on a high
20:36, 23 Mar 2026Updated 20:37, 23 Mar 2026
Bernardo Silva was one of the outstanding performers in Manchester City’s Carabao Cup win
Towards the end of the season, there is always a debate about criteria when it comes to handing out individual accolades. Do you need to have been part of a successful team to win personal awards? Or is the level of your importance to a team a decisive factor, no matter how unsuccessful that side is?
Those who suggest Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes should be the Footballer of the Year are clearly of the second opinion. Should Arsenal win the Premier League or the Champions League, some insist a Footballer of the Year should come from their ranks. Declan Rice, perhaps.
Which, for those who watched him flounder against Rodri and Bernardo Silva at Wembley on Sunday, might jar a little. You will not just be judged on one game, though, and Rice is a fantastic player.
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But watching Silva perform on the grand stage for City for what is likely one of his final times was a reminder of what a unique talent the Portuguese midfielder is. In the unlikely event City overhaul Arsenal in the Premier League – and even complete a more unlikely treble – Silva might get some votes for individual honours.
And they would be well-deserved. When it comes to Silva’s importance to City, he really does provide proof there are lies, damned lies and statistics.
Across all club competitions, he has made 42 appearances this season, and a return of three goals and five assists is not spectacular, especially when you factor in 12 bookings and a red card. But the numbers really do not tell you the full story. They do not tell anything resembling the full story.
The Manchester City captain is leading from the front in what will almost certainly be his last season at the club
Firstly, is there a more indefatigable player in the Premier League? If you actually do like your stats, four of the top seven distances covered by a player in a Premier League match have come from 31-year-old Silva.
Only three players have covered over 13km in a single match – Bruno Guimaraes, Silva and Pascal Gross. He was everywhere against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final.
Again, statistics do not do Silva any sort of justice. Very rarely does he surrender possession, very rarely does he waste a short pass.
Against Arsenal, in tandem with Rodri, he was always probing. And this was on the back of being sent off against Real Madrid in City’s Champions League exit.
Bernardo Silva has won 15 major trophies in his nine seasons with Man City
There is a reason he now wears the captain’s armband for Pep Guardiola. His latest Carabao Cup winners’ medal (his fifth) means he has now won 15 major trophies with City in nine seasons.
Silva is, to put it politely, streetwise. He is a master of the tactical foul – again, to put it politely.
Some would consider him to have gotten away with all sorts during his career in England. But he is a remarkable player.
And when – as it seems inevitable – he leaves the Etihad at the end of the season when his contract expires, he will be sorely missed. He will not leave as Footballer of the Year, but he will leave as another of City’s all-time greats.
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