SPECIAL SALUTE TO BLUES HERO
BLUES TO HONOUR ‘TRANSFORMATIONAL’ PLAYER WITH STATUE OUTSIDE STADIUM
DAVID Silva is to be honoured with a statue outside the Etihad Stadium, to be unveiled next summer.
The Spain international played his last game for Manchester City, in the 3-1 defeat by Lyon in the Champions League on Saturday night.
Yesterday it was announced he had snubbed an offer from Italian side Lazio to return to his homeland. He has joined La Liga side Real Sociedad on a two-year deal.
Before leaving City he was told by chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak that the club had decided his contribution to their success over the past decade – four Premier League titles, five League Cups and two FA Cups in his 436 appearances – merited a permanent tribute outside the ground.
Khaldoon took Silva to one side after his final Premier League game, against Norwich last month, to tell him the special tribute the club has planned.
And the City chairman said of the tribute: “David Silva is a transformational player – a quiet leader who has acted quietly and deliberately and inspired everyone around him, from the youngest academy player to his senior team-mates over the past ten years.
“He has put a stamp on the team, on this club, its history and even the Premier League as a whole.
“In doing so he has been instrumental to the beautiful football philosophy you see today. He was the start of it.
“As with Vincent before him, David’s statue will act as a lasting reminder of the wonderful moments that he gave us, not only as an incredible footballer, but as an inspiring ambassador who represented this football club with great dignity at all times.
“When Vincent moved on, we agreed and promised to put up a statue for him – we’re well under way in terms of developing that statue.
“In this case, David, everyone would agree with me, all of our fans, that if there is one person who deserves to have their statue in a special place in front of the Etihad, it’s David Silva.
“We are going to work closely with David himself on choosing the ultimate design for that statue, in front of the Etihad.”
The tribute is expected to be unveiled next summer, probably after one for Vincent Kompany, which is currently under construction.
Silva, who is 34, will also have a training pitch at the City Football Academy named after him – adding to those for Kompany, Yaya Toure and Joe Hart.
The training pitch will have a sign added featuring a mosaic of Silva in action, depicting him in action during the 6-1 win at Old Trafford in 2011.
Silva will be given a duplicate of the mosaic, which will be created by Manchester artist and lifelong City fan Mark Kennedy, for his own home.
Silva decided last summer that this would be his final campaign, and since then the Blues hierarchy met to decide the best way to mark his incredible contribution.