Remembering the most elegant player to play for Manchester City | OneFootball

At the end of the 24/25 season arguably the greatest player to ever play for Manchester City departed the club. Kevin De Bruyne left City before eventually signing for Napoli. De Bruyne’s legacy has long been established at the Etihad. His feats have established him as one of the best players to ever play for the club.

But sitting alongside De Bruyne as Manchester City’s greatest player of the modern era would be David Silva. The Spanish international forged an incredible legacy at the club. He helped lay the groundwork for Manchester City to become the club they are today. With his elegance, exceptional technical ability and his remarkable trait to find space when there was none David Silva established himself as one of the best players to play for City and in the Premier League.

David Silva made the game look easy at Manchester City.

In his 10 years at the club, David Silva made 436 appearances for Manchester City. He scored 77 goals and added 136 assists in those matches. The Spanish international was a model of consistency and brilliance during his time at the club. But that only tells part of the story of David Silva’s legacy at City.

With his exceptional technical ability, ability to play in the pockets and tight spaces, and his ability to dictate an entire game, David Silva was a player who made the game look ridiculously easy. Whether that was with a drop of his shoulders or a defence-splitting pass. It was a familiar sight to see David Silva leave his opponents helpless as he glided past them or took out an entire opposition defence with a perfectly weighted pass.

Although David Silva wasn’t a prolific goal scorer he did have the ability to score wonderful goals. His goal against Blackpool, which was his first Premier League goal, showed off all of that wizardry in David Silva’s game. It was a special goal and set the scene for what lay ahead for the next decade.

Summary.

Perhaps David Silva’s legacy at Manchester City is that he was one of the players who helped establish City as the dominant force in English football. He arrived at the club from Valencia in 2010. Alongside Vincent Kompany, Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta, Yaya Toure and Joe Hart, he helped establish City as a powerhouse of the English game. He also established himself as one of the greatest players in Premier League history.

When a list of Manchester City’s greatest ever players is drawn up David Silva sits right at the top of it. He earned that status after a decade of brilliant performances for the club. On this day 15 years ago he arrived at City. By the time David Silva left he left a legacy at Manchester City that will never be forgotten.