Manchester City say goodbye to club legend David Silva
After ten years at the club, Manchester City legend David Silva will depart the blues at the end of season, having won eleven major trophies and making over 400 appearances in all competitions.
After ten years, eleven major trophies, and 400 appearances, Manchester City legend David Silva is leaving the Etihad.
The Spanish midfielder has managed to win an impressive four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five EFL trophies.
It remains to be seen, however, whether he will leave the club with a Champions League winner’s medal in his hand, the only major honour missing from his time at the club.
It would certainly be the best going away present for the Spanish international, who also has two wins at the European Championships and a World Cup to his name.
Such success is above and beyond what Silva ever thought he would enjoy in his career:
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“When I look back at everything, I could never in my wildest dreams have imagined what I would achieve,” Silva said.
“When you are young, you don’t dream about all of this.
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“You dream about becoming a footballer, a professional footballer, you dream of playing in the top flight – but you never think about all the things that you could possibly achieve.”
While it may seem a distant memory in the face of all that he has achieved in Manchester, David Silva’s transfer to the Citizens was largely down to the financial troubles of his former club, Valencia.
“Why did I leave Valencia? Because the club needed me to,” Silva admitted, not long after he joined City.
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“I was happy there and wouldn’t have left, but the situation the club was in demanded it.”
In the end, the Spanish club in the end accepted a bid of £25m for Silva.
Given his success in the last ten years, this seems like a a bargain price, but even in 2010 it was a massive steal for City.
Pep Guardiola has called Silva “one of the best” players he has ever known. And this is coming from a man who has worked with too many world-beaters to count.
Premier League players, both past and present, have also sung the praises of the little midfielder known as El Mago (the magician).
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Jamie Carragher, back in 2017, called Silva City’s “best ever player” and Alan Shearer put the Spaniard in the same bracket as “Thierry Henry at Arsenal, Manchester United’s Eric Cantona or Silva’s Manchester City teammate Sergio Aguero”.
Peculiarly, despite these plaudits, Silva has, surprisingly, received few individual awards during his time at City.
The 34-year-old has won only one Premier League Player of the Month award and has appeared in the League’s team of the season only twice.
For the fans, some believe the Spanish maestro is destined to remain dwarfed by the likes of modern City legends such as Kompany and Aguero.
The founder of CityXtra, Freddie Pye, told The Manc that Silva “will always be in the shadow of the likes of Kompany, Aguero, and Yaya Toure in the eyes of other football fans, purely down to these players having scored goals that ultimately won trophies.”
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Freddie believes that when it comes to standout moments for Silva, it is not about goals.
“City fans will fondly remember the assists, the moments of magic, the gliding across the surface effortlessly,” he argued.
There have been many of them.
Silva’s sumptuous through ball to Edin Dzeko set up City’s sixth goal in their famous 6-1 thrashing of United at Old Trafford; voted one of his best moments at the club.
Another fond memory was his assist against Wigan back in 2011, where he managed to bypass three opposition players with ease to slide a perfect ball through to Aguero to bag his hat-trick.
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And, of course, who could forget Kompany’s winning header against United back in April of the 11/12 season? A goal, which effectively won the blues their first Premier League title, came from a Silva corner.
Despite the standout moments, many recognise Silva’s biggest contribution to the team was his consistency and his ability to control a match despite having played under different systems, under three different managers (Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola).
Supporters are also passionate about making sure Silva’s contributions to club are recognised. Some are asking for statue of Silva to be placed outside of the Etihad, with a petition set up in aid of this mission close to 1000 signatures.
It is unclear what the future holds for the Spanish star.
But, for now, Silva is only thinking about the Champions League.
What a way to go out…
Sport
Co-op Live announce UFC 304 is coming to the brand-new arena for Manchester return this year
Danny Jones
Co-op Live has announced one of the biggest nights yet and their first-ever sporting event after confirming that the UFC is coming to the new state-of-the-art arena.
While the shiny new music and live entertainment stadium suffered an unfortunate setback earlier this week, with both of Peter Kay’s gigs being postponed following power supply issues discovered during their test event, the confirmation of UFC 304 at Co-op Live is a big plus for the opening month.
Rumours had been circling that a huge sporting event might be coming to the UK’s newest indoor arena, one of the biggest of its kind in Europe, but this being just the fourth time the UFC has washed up on British shores, it’s a huge coup for their debut year.
Announced on Wednesday, 24 April, the global MMA phenomenon and multi-billion-dollar promotion company will be bringing their 304th fight night to Manchester on 27 July and you can roll your eyes at the pun all you like, but it’s going to be a knockout.
As the UFC has said in an official press release, “UK MMA is currently experiencing what is being described as an unheralded golden era, with stars such as welterweight champion Leon Edwards, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, and local favourites, including Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann, Muhammad Mokaev, Michael Page and Arnold Allen, with more rising through the ranks.”
That being said, there isn’t a better moment for the brand to capitalise on the growing fight audience here in the UK and 0161, specifically, with the aforementioned Aspinall having created a real appetite for the discipline in and around the city.
The Greater Manchester region has always been home to iconic fighters regardless, be it boxing or otherwise; Ricky Hatton, Tyson Fury, Amir Khan, as well adopted Manc MMA legend Michael Bisping, whose pedigree helped bring UFC to Manchester and the AO Arena for the first time back in 2016.
Nearly a decade later the promotion is now part of Co-op Live’s maiden calendar and set to be the first of many sporting events they hope to host – a plan bolstered by their partnership with neighbours, Manchester City.
“I’m so excited to get back to Manchester, and no better time than this summer,” said UFC President and CEO Dana White. “We have two champions from the UK and fans have been dying for a UFC PPV event. So here we come to the largest indoor arena in the UK. See you soon, England!”
As for Co-op Live, Executive Director and General Manager Gary Rodenadded: “With the north of England home to so many of the world’s leading fighters, we are primed and ready for UFC and its knowledgeable, passionate fanbase.
“Offering a state-of-the-art platform for globally broadcast events, Co-op Live is extremely proud to welcome entertainment of this scale and calibre as the future home of combat sports in the UK.”
Co-op members get early access to presale tickets at 10am on 5 June and general admission goes live via Ticketmaster at the same time on Friday, 7 June. UFC Fight Club members will also have the opportunity to purchase tickets early on the Wednesday from 9am BST.
You can also register your interest HERE to gain access to a special pre-sale which starts on Thursday, 6 June 6 from 10am as well. Roll on fight night!
Manchester United in talks with Disney over ‘multi-million-dollar documentaries’ deal
Danny Jones
Manchester United are said to be in talks with Disney over a potential deal to create a number of “multi-million-dollar documentaries”.
Just a week or so after the first trailer for their upcoming 99 series on Amazon Prime Video, which will follow their iconic treble-winning campaign – and only a couple weeks after Manchester City dropped their own over on Netflix – it looks like we’re getting more Manchester football media.
As per the report by The Athletic‘s Adam Crafton, the discussion between the footballing icons and entertainment giants centres around the proposal to make multiple documentaries about the club, with a specific focus on Sir Alex Ferguson and the legacy he left behind.
With Disney+ now the third biggest streaming service available, boasting more than 150 million subscribers according to the most recent estimates, and Man United still one of the most instantly recognisable brands on the planet, it goes without saying that the viewing figures would be huge.
NEW: Manchester United in multi-million dollar negotiations with @Disney over a deal to make documentaries. Initially with a view to create content about Sir Alex Ferguson’s era of success, including fresh extensive interview access to club’s former coach. https://t.co/VfKOlDdpH0
Man United and Disney are reportedly exploring a collaboration for multiple documentaries.
The article goes on to detail how the prospective documentaries would also ideally involve “substantial interview time with Ferguson”, the now 82-year-old former manager and footballing legend who won a total of 38 trophies in 26 years as the Man United boss.
Disney would reportedly also be given access to the club’s wealth of archive footage along with key ambassadors and figures from their rich sporting heritage, including former captain Bryan Robson, goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and more.
We’d be surprised if you didn’t see plenty of David Beckham, Gary Neville and other Class of ’92 members involved as well, sitting as arguably the most iconic and foremost serial winners in their history.
As the plans are still in their infancy, Ferguson and his former players would need to formally agree to be part of the documentaries and United would have their say over final edits.
It is said that the current deal on the table is “in the low seven figures” and is actually lower than the terms originally offered to the club when the idea was first floated a couple of years ago.
There is still no indication as to how many projects could be in the pipeline or when we might see the first released if/when a deal is agreed upon.
As for out on the pitch itself, it’s been a turbulent season for the Red Devils, to say the least, but they have still managed to secure a place in the FA Cup final for the second year running following a game they made difficult for themselves against Coventry City.
Set to be just the second Manchester derby final in history, kick-off has once again been moved to an earlier start time to aid with travel issues and potential crowd problems.