After ten successful years at the Etihad, David Silva will continue his football journey with Italian side Lazio.
Silva joined City from Valencia and went on to win every available major trophy in England.
The midfielder departs the Etihad Stadium a bonafide legend having won four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five League Cups.
He has scored or assisted over 200 goals since moving to City from Valencia in 2010.
Silva played his last Premier League game for the club last month, but may still feature for Pep Guardiola’s side as they continue their Champions League campaign.
As soon as City’s European campaign ends, El Mago will be moving to Rome to join Lazio.
The Italian side is a very good outfit, featuring the likes of European Golden Boot winner Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinković-Savić, and Silva will slot in nicely for their first Champions League group stage appearance since 2007. With the slower tempo and technicality of the Italian league, there is no reason to believe that Silva cannot be a major piece of a Lazio side that wants to take one step further and push an ageing Juventus under first-time manager Andrea Pirlo for the Serie A title.
Silva is one of City’s all-time greats, and he will be dearly missed, but this move signals his intent to continue at the top level. He could face City in next season’s Champions League and will look to bring his title-winning pedigree to break Juventus’ nine-year stranglehold over the Scudetto. I believe this is the right move for both sides, as City will look to the future with Phil Foden and possibly Bernardo Silva filling the void, while David Silva’s ambitions can continue in Rome.
He becomes the latest Manchester City legend to depart following Vincent Kompany’s exit last summer. This time, City will hope that they do a better job of replacing him than in Kompany’s case.
