Former Manchester City star David Silva has officially announced his retirement from football due to a devastating knee injury.
The 37-year-old Spanish international had an illustrious career spanning two decades, with a significant part of it spent at Manchester City.
Silva joined Manchester City from Valencia in 2010 and enjoyed a successful ten-year stint, making over 400 appearances for the club and securing four Premier League titles during his time there.
After departing from City in 2020, he joined Real Sociedad and was set to enter his fourth season with the Spanish club.
Unfortunately, Silva suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a pre-season training session, leading him to make the tough decision to retire from professional football.
Throughout his career, he also had stints with Eibar and Celta Vigo.
On the international stage, Silva represented Spain with great distinction, earning 125 caps for the senior national team.
He was a crucial part of the Spanish squad that lifted the World Cup in 2010 and triumphed in the European Championships in both 2008 and 2012.
“Today is a sad day for me,” Silva said. “Today it is time to say goodbye to what I have dedicated my whole life to.
“Today it is time to say goodbye to my colleagues, who are like family to me. I will miss you very much.
“Ches (Valencia), Armeros (Eibar), Celtinas (Celta Vigo), Citizens (Man City) and Txuri Urdines (Real Sociedad)…thank you because you have made me feel at home.”
Muchas gracias…fútbol pic.twitter.com/HoB6TPojAd
— David Silva (@21LVA) July 27, 2023
A number of former team-mates have shared messages of support for Silva. Among them was former Manchester City colleague Aymeric Laporte, who shared the simple message “Leyenda, gracias por todos” (‘Legend, thanks for everything)’.
“Mago” (magician) wrote Riyad Mahrez, who was part of the Manchester City squad for Silva’s final league title in 2018-19, referring to one of Silva’s nicknames.
“Thank you mago” was the reply from Edin Dzeko, who played alongside Silva for the pair’s first English title win in 2011-12.