Footballing legend David Villa announces his retirement

David Villa announces that this season will be his last.

In a press conference, former Spain striker David Villa announced that he plans to retire at the end of the season.

His decision brings an end to a storied 19-year career as a professional. A career that spanned all across Spain and the world.

He made his professional debut with Sporting Gijon before moving on to Real Zaragoza. His performances there led to a move to Valencia where he really burst onto the scene.

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In that Valencia side, he was accompanied by the likes of David Silva, Juan Mata, and Jordi Alba, to name a few.

It was also during this time that he became somewhat of a fixture in the national team. He was the top scorer in the 2008 Euro competition and rumors of an exit to a top club began to circulate following Spain’s exit from the 2009 Confederations Cup.

Villa finally made his move to Barcelona in 2010 signing a four-year deal. He was deployed on the left at Barcelona partnering up Lionel Messi and Pedro. In his first season he scored twice in Barcelona’s 5-0 thrashing of Real Madrid at the Camp Nou and scored in the Champions League final against Manchester United.

He slotted in perfectly at Barcelona proving to be an unselfish player as he led the line in every other team he played for up until joining the Catalans.

His time at the club would take a significant dip following an injury in the Club World Cup in 2011. He never regained prominence after the arrivals of Alexis Sanchez and Neymar and left to join Atletico Madrid.

Following a season with Los Colchoneros, he moved to MLS where he enjoyed a resurgence with New York City FC. He came as a designated player and treated the league with respect instead of a retirement and led NYCFC to playoff appearances and became a real figure there.

He played so well that he earned a call-up for Spain in 2017 in the qualifiers against Italy and Liechtenstein.

David Villa will go down as one of the best striker Spain has produced and one that will forever be underrated.

With Barcelona’s style and the number of players represented at the national team level, it was only a matter of time before Spain turned into a reflection of the football Barcelona was playing. Villa fit that system perfectly as the lone striker or on the wing when Spain deployed a false ‘9.’

Since his retirement from international duty, Spain has had a tough time in finding a striker who could do what David Villa did. Fernando Torres was not able to fill that role despite some rating him higher than Villa.

Alvaro Morata, Diego Costa, Paco Alcacer, etc. are just a few names that have been called but none have been able to fill that void.

He fit that style of play for Spain perfectly and one could argue that Spain would not have been as successful as they were without Villa in the side.

His retirement comes now at Vissel Kobe where he plays alongside Andres Iniesta and Sergi Samper.  It is a decision he did not come to lightly.

According to The Guardian, he said,

"It’s a decision I’ve thought a lot about. I spoke about this with the people who care about me, with my family, and the people who have been with me for my whole career.” – David Villa (quote via the Guardian)"

As for his plans after retirement, he mentioned an interest in becoming an investor in Queensboro FC, a club in New York who will play in the second tier of American soccer come 2021. He called it a “dream” to build a new professional team.