Former Manchester City midfielder David Silva has contracted coronavirus weeks after he retired from the Premier League club to join Spanish La Liga club Real Sociedad.
Real Sociedad announced on Monday via their official Twitter account that the 34-year-old attacking midfielder tested positive for the virus in a test carried out prior to his unveiling at the club’s home ground, Anoeta Stadium.
“The player is asymptomatic and is self-isolating”, Real Sociedad tweeted few hours after unveiling the legendary midfielder.
ℹ Real Sociedad informs that @21LVA has tested positive for COVID-19 in the test carried out at Policlínica Gipuzkoa. The player is asymptomatic and is self-isolating.#AurreraReala pic.twitter.com/5Rs8gamWsT
— Real Sociedad (@RealSociedadEN) August 31, 2020
David Silva joined the Spanish La Liga club on a free transfer from Manchester City where he spent ten years of his football career. He retired from the Premier League club as the club’s captain and legend.
The 34-year-old former Spain international who won one FIFA World Cup and two European Championship before he retired from international football in 2018, joined the Spanish club on a two-year deal which would expire on 30 June 2022.
When Real Sociedad announced in mid-August that the former Valencia star has returned to Spain to play for the club, the club’s website reportedly crashed as the club’s fans trouped to the site to get details of the ‘incredible’ signing.
Prior to joining Real Sociedad, the most likely destination for the attacking midfielder was Italian Serie A side, Lazio. To the dismay of Lazio’s fans, they ended up seeing that it was another club that announced his signature.
The Unveiling of David Silva
On his unveiling on Monday, the attacking midfielder who scored 77 goals and provided 140 assists in 436 appearances for Manchester City, said he chose Real Sociedad ahead of other clubs because he likes the club’s style of football.
Despite winning 14 titles including four Premier League titles with Manchester City in 10 years, David Silva believes that he would win titles with Real Sociedad which finished 6th in Spanish La Liga in the 2019-2020 season.
“The team is playing some great football and I hope to add to that here and have some great years at the club,” Silva said.
“I have high expectations in terms of the football we’ll be playing and I think we can compete for silverware.
“I’ve been lucky enough to win a lot of things in my career. I’m very competitive and I’m going to try and do the same here because that’s why I’ve been brought in.”
