David Villa

David Villa Sánchez (daˈβið ˈbiʎa santʃeθ; born 3 December 1981) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who last played as a striker for Japanese club Vissel Kobe. Villa is regarded by pundits as one of the best forwards of his generation, and one of, if not the best Spanish striker of all time. Nicknamed El Guaje (The Kid in Asturian) due to cultivating a reputation of playing football with children much older than him, Villa sustained a serious injury as a child but managed to start his professional career with Sporting de Gijón in 2001. He moved to Real Zaragoza after two seasons, where he made his La Liga debut, winning the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España. He joined Valencia in 2005 for a transfer fee of €12 million and captured another Copa del Rey title. At age 28, Villa registered 28 league goals and garnered a move to Barcelona for €40 million in 2010, where he won his first La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles, and scored in the 2011 final. He left the club in 2013 after concluding a €5.1 million transfer to Atlético Madrid, where he won another La Liga title. After a singular season in the Spanish capital, Villa departed to join upstart MLS franchise New York City, where he became the club's record goalscorer and appearance maker, winning the MLS MVP Award for best player in 2016. In 2018, Villa announced his departure from New York to relocate to Japan, in order to join Vissel Kobe. Villa made his international debut for Spain in 2005. He then participated in four major tournaments, becoming an integral member of the Spain teams that won UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup, was the top scorer at Euro 2008, and earned the Silver Boot at the 2010 World Cup. His displays for Spain and Valencia saw him named in the FIFA FIFPro World11 for 2010. He became the first Spanish player to ever reach 50 international goals and, after a brief comeback in 2017, he retired from the national team with 59 goals in 98 matches, making him Spain's all-time top goalscorer as well as the country's top scorer in the World Cup, with nine goals.