David Silva has described his trophy-laden decade at Manchester City as beyond his 'wildest dreams' before making his final Premier League appearance for the club against Norwich City on Sunday. The 34-year-old midfielder leaves City having won four league titles, two FA Cups and five League Cups, scoring 60 top-flight goals.
'When I look back at everything I have achieved I could never have imagined it, even in my wildest dreams,' Silva said. 'When you are young you don't dream about all of this. You dream about becoming a footballer, a professional footballer, you dream of playing in the top flight. But you never think about all the things that you could possibly achieve.'
Silva, who also won two European Championships, the World Cup and a Copa del Rey with Valencia, admitted he needed time to adapt after joining City in 2010. 'I arrived here having just won the World Cup. It was a change in country, league, language and everything was quite tough but my teammates welcomed me and really looked after me and after a few months I settled in. I have always tried to do my absolute best, to always behave well and I have tried to work very hard too. I hope that people have enjoyed my football for all of these years.'
Manager Pep Guardiola paid tribute to Silva's impact. 'Extraordinary – the amount, the huge quality of the games he played, the titles he helped to win. He's another player, alongside six, seven or eight others, that made the club what it is right now. Always I think this club will be grateful to him.'
Guardiola also confirmed that striker Sergio Agüero will miss the Champions League last-16 second leg against Real Madrid next month as he continues rehabilitation from knee surgery. The Catalan is hopeful Agüero could return for the later stages of the competition should City progress, but the Argentine faces a battle to feature again before next season.
