Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BYE-O SILVA
It’s taking longer than he expected but City legend WILL leave at end of the season after a glorious decade
DAVID SILVA is sticking to his decision to leave Manchester City at the end of the current campaign – even if his farewell will take a little longer than anticipated.
With the Spaniard yet to agree to a new deal elsewhere, Silva is free to pen a mini-contract extension to enable him to see out the remainder of the season with City.
Although some at City had hoped he could extend his stay into an 11th season, Silva has confirmed he will still bow out this summer.
“I have been here 10 years and I have fulfilled what I wanted,” said
Silva (right, with Blues boss Pep Guardiola).
“The cycle closes here, but I will always keep this club in mind for everything I have lived.
From the first moment, people have treated me incredibly. Here they have a great respect for you, people admire you. But now my family and I will need another challenge.”
Silva revealed that football’s enforced lay-off due the coronavirus pandemic had put on hold his plans to find another club after City.
“Friends send me messages to ask if I’ll be going to one side or another,” said Silva. “They seem to know more than I do. I’m still
waiting for all of this to be decided.” Silva, who joined City from Valencia for £25million in 2010, has won four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five
League Cups with the
Blues.
The one trophy missing from his glittering CV – which also includes the World
Cup and European Championships with
Spain – is the Champions League.
Silva is hoping to leave Guardiola’s side on a high this summer – by adding that one trophy which has eluded him throughout his successful career.
City lead Real Madrid 2-1 at the halfway stage of their last-16 tie, with two precious away goals following a famous victory in the Bernabeu. Silva, 34, added: “It’s going to be a little weird. We have to wait for them to tell us when we can play and try to get the best possible levels we can. Hopefully, we can win it.”
The player nicknamed ‘Merlin’ because of his magician-like skills on the ball also said that he plans to go into coaching when his playing days are over.
“You learn a lot, always from seeing how the other team plays,” said Silva.
“It’s like giving soccer classes – all tactical. Seeing that encourages you to start coaching when you retire as a player. Right now, that’s my idea.”