MONACO -- Bernardo Silva has raised the prospect that he could be the next long-serving Manchester City player to leave the club after revealing he has already made a decision on his future.
City have seen Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson and Ilkay Gündogan all leave the Etihad Stadium in the last year.
Bernardo, who made club captain in the summer, has entered the final year of his contract and has been linked with moves to Benfica or the Saudi Pro League.
"I know exactly what I'm going to do but it's not the time to talk about it," Bernado told a news conference on Tuesday.
"It's time to focus on City to try to do my best to put the club back where it belongs.
"In regard to my contract, I'm really focused on doing a proper season with Man City and being as well as possible to perform and to bring back the team and the club to the level where it deserves to be the world."
Bernardo returns to Monaco this week for City's Champions League clash eight years after leaving the Ligue 1 side to move to the Premier League.
He was handed the captain's armband in the summer ahead of his ninth season in Manchester.
And the Portugal international has lifted the lid on his new role, revealing his key responsibility is to make sure the squad "behave" in the right way including turning up to training on time.
"Obviously as the first captain you have to make sure some things don't happen, to create that environment," he said.
"My job now is to try to create that energy -- with the group of captains -- that chemistry so people behave in the right way in training and in games, arrive on time to training, train properly, be in good condition, take care of themselves. That is our job."
Bernardo's appointment as captain comes six years after former City defender Vincent Kompany said in 2019 that his teammate was "50% clown, 50% leader and when he becomes 25% clown, 75% leader he will become the captain of this team."
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And Kompany was quick to remind Silva of his prediction when he took the job ahead of the Club World Cup.
"Vincent actually sent me that quote when Pep [Guardiola] appointed me captain," Bernardo said.
"He said 'I knew I was right all along.' It is a big honour and responsibility. It's experience knowing what Pep wants from his team, I can pass that knowledge to the young guys, I try to behave as an example."