Not the dream goodbye I wanted to have at Manchester City, admits David Silva
David Silva made 309 Premier League for Manchester City
|Manchester City legend David Silva has confessed that he regrets the fact that he couldn’t properly say goodbye to the club as he was forced to fly straight to Spain after the Champions League. The Spaniard signed for La Liga side Real Sociedad this summer after spending a decade in Manchester.
Despite offers from the MLS, China, Japan and even a move to Lazio, David Silva produced a shock U-turn when he signed for Real Sociedad. The move did come after the midfielder’s father had announced that the Spaniard wasn’t looking for a move back to his home country. However, things changed and despite a reported agreement with Lazio, Silva signed for the Basque side.
It also meant that he left Manchester City after a glittering ten-year spell with the club although his return to the La Liga hasn’t gone according to plan so far. Instead, Silva was forced to isolate after testing positive for COVID-19 which was what hampered his final days at City. It saw the Spaniard admit that he regrets not being able to say goodbye properly to the fans and the club although he hopes he can change that in the future.Â
“It was cold, to be honest. It was not my dream goodbye. Football is like that. I am sure I will be back to Manchester to make things right. I spoke to the players in the dinner after the Champions League loss just to thank everyone but it did not feel enough. I want to come back to Manchester and close my chapter there with all the fans and people I loved,” Silva told the Times.
Things didn’t start well, however, for Silva at Manchester City as well with the Spaniard struggling to acclimatise with the change in country. But it all worked out although Silva admitted that when he arrived after the 2010 World Cup, he was “overwhelmed” by the pace of the English game. He also added that to play football in England, players need to be mentally prepared as well as physically.
 “I came from the World Cup and barely made the pre-season. When I arrived I saw football pass so fast. Everything was flying over me and there was no pause. I felt overwhelmed in some moments. To get settled here you have to prepare yourself mentally. If you start thinking about Spain, how you loved it there, the sun . . . England is a different place. New country, new culture. You adapt or you go, but I think that having an easy-going lifestyle, England is the perfect place to play football. If you want to get used to it, you can do it," he added.
