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

Silva joined City from Monaco in a deal worth around €50m (£43.5m) in July 2017 and has played a key role throughout the most successful period in the club's history.

The Portugal international has won 15 major trophies with City, including six Premier League titles, the Champions League, two FA Cups and five EFL Cups – the most recent of those coming last month after a 2-0 final victory over Arsenal at Wembley.

The 31-year-old, who succeeded Kevin De Bruyne as Pep Guardiola's captain when the Belgian departed last year, has been linked with an exit for several years.

His boyhood club Benfica have expressed a strong interest in taking him back to the Estadio da Luz, while Barcelona have also been touted as a potential landing spot.

Silva played his 297th Premier League game in last Sunday's 3-0 win at Chelsea and will end his City career with the second-most appearances in the competition for the club, after David Silva (309).

Silva, who has scored 45 goals and provided 50 assists for City, ranking seventh in their all-time Premier League goal involvement charts, now wants to sign off on a high, with Guardiola's men still chasing a domestic treble.

"When I arrived nine years ago, I was following a dream of a little boy, wanting to succeed in life, wanting to achieve great things," Silva wrote on social media. "This city and this club gave me much more than that, much more than I ever hoped for. 

"What we won and achieved together is a legacy that will forever be cherished in my heart. the Centurions, the domestic quadruple, the treble, four in a row and much more… It wasn't that bad!

"In a few months it's time to say goodbye to the city where not only we won so much as a football club, but also where I started my marriage and my family. 

"To the fans, your unconditional support throughout the years is something that I will never forget. My main goal as a player was to always play with passion, so you guys could feel proud and well represented on the pitch. 

"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.

"To the club, Pep, the staff and all my team-mates over these nine years, thank you for all the memories and for letting me be a part of this journey for so long. 

"The atmosphere we created every day at the training ground made me feel at home and a part of a big family. Let's enjoy together these last weeks and fight for what this season still brings us."

Having already won the EFL Cup, City will face Championship side Southampton in the FA Cup semi-finals and are six points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, who they face this weekend, with a game in hand.