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| NYC F.C. makes a splash with David Villa signing. Photo Credit: Soccer |
David Villa, the highly-experienced Spanish striker who has lifted the Champions League and World Cup trophies in what has been a title brimming career, finally put pen to paper with New York City F.C. early last week to become the Major League Soccer club’s very first player.
By: Luke Jarrett
The Manchester City franchised club announced that Villa, 32, had agreed a three-year contract, as the Spaniard was looking to find a club to draw the curtain on his footballing career. He joined as a free agent from Spanish outfit Atlético Madrid, meaning New York City F.C. did not have to pay a penny for him. Financial terms of the contract were not released, but it can be expected that he will be among the highest paid players in the league.
By: Luke Jarrett
The Manchester City franchised club announced that Villa, 32, had agreed a three-year contract, as the Spaniard was looking to find a club to draw the curtain on his footballing career. He joined as a free agent from Spanish outfit Atlético Madrid, meaning New York City F.C. did not have to pay a penny for him. Financial terms of the contract were not released, but it can be expected that he will be among the highest paid players in the league.
Villa is the first of many to join the part Yankee and Manchester City side, and will begin their MLS campaign in 2015.
“It’s a real honor that the people who have formed the club have thought of me” as the first signing, Villa said in Spanish in a video posted on New York City F.C.’s website Monday morning, adding, “It’s an honor to be the first player and a flag-bearer of New York City as they begin life in M.L.S.”
Villa won the Spanish league title with Atlético this season, adding to the two he won at Barcelona in 2011 and 2013, and was a starter in their Champions League final tie versus Real Madrid.
He was also a member of Spain’s European Championship team in 2008 and its World Cup-winning squad in 2010, and he was confirmed Monday as a member of Spain’s team for the coming World Cup in Brazil. It will be his third World Cup, giving him a chance to add to his record total of 56 goals for Spain’s national team.Villa won the Spanish league title with Atlético this season, adding to the two he won at Barcelona in 2011 and 2013, and was a starter in their Champions League final tie versus Real Madrid.
The timing of his signature issued some complications, as the European and M.L.S. soccer calendars do not match. Europe plays a late-summer-to-spring schedule, while New York City F.C. will not gather for preseason training until the third week of January, and it will not begin play until next March.
Claudio Reyna, New York City F.C.’s sporting director, said the team and Villa had worked out a schedule that included rest after the World Cup, fitness training with the team’s staff and a loan to an unnamed team in the fall.
Villa is scheduled to wear the No.7 shirt in New York. He is set to train with a host of new stars, which will potentially be added to the squad this summer, at the Yankee Stadium, whilst plans are pursued for a permanent home. Reports in England suggest that Frank Lampard has entered talks with New York City F.C, as he looks to become one of these stars. 