Career
His first representation for Spain saw him netting 3 goals during the 2003 ‘FIFA Under-17 World Championship’ held in Finland.
His made his professional debut in the 2004–2005 season, with ‘Sociedad Deportiva Eibar,’ after being loaned by ‘Valencia.’ He was loaned out to the Spanish professional football club ‘Celta de Vigo’ the next season. He netted 4 goals at the 2005 ‘FIFA World Youth Championship.’
The summer of 2006 marked his return to ‘Valencia.’ On November 5, 2006, he scored his first league goal. He was named as part of the Spanish national ‘Under-21’ football team in 2006, while he made his senior international debut on November 15 that year.
Silva was included in the squad of 23 for the ‘UEFA Euro 2008.’
While many ‘Premier League’ teams showed interest in Silva, he went for a five-year contract extension with ‘Valencia’ in August 2008. He won one ‘Copa del Rey’ in 2008, his first title in Spain, as ‘Valencia’ garnered a 3–1 victory over ‘Getafe,’ earning the trophy for the seventh time in the club’s history.
He made his career-best score of eight goals during the 2009–2010 ‘La Liga’ season.
'Manchester City’ signed a four-year deal with Silva on July 14, 2010. He was initially deployed by its manager, Roberto Mancini, as a winger. Later in his first season, Silva was given the role of a trequartista.
David made his ‘Premier League’ debut on August 14, 2010, in a match against ‘Tottenham Hotspur’ at White Hart Lane. A match against ‘Red Bull Salzburg,’ held on September 16 that year, marked his first goal for ‘Manchester City.’ His first league goal was against ‘Blackpool’ on October 17 that year.
His impressive performance earned him three ‘Manchester City Player of the Month’ awards in a row, from October to December 2010. Overall, he made 15 assists in his first season and became one of the finest players of the league.
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He continued his impressive performance in the next season too. In the 2011–2012 ‘Premier League,’ he was named the ‘Man of the Match’ in two matches, against ‘Swansea City’ and the ‘Bolton Wanderers’ respectively. His remarkable display on the field earned him the ‘Premier League Player of the Month’ award on October 1, 2011.
He netted the fifth goal for ‘Manchester City’ against ‘Manchester United’ in the season’s first ‘Manchester Derby,’ held at Old Trafford’ on October 23, 2011, when the former ended up with a 6–1 win. The game witnessed Silva’s excellent passing skills, when he assisted his teammates in making two goals, apart from setting up the second goal for Edin Džeko.
He finished the season with 15 assists to his credit, the maximum delivered by any player in that season, and won his first ‘Premier League’ medal with ‘Manchester City.’ He was also included in the ‘PFA Premier League Team of the Year,’ along with three other ‘Manchester City’ players.
The ‘UEFA Euro 2012’ finals held at the ‘Olympic Stadium’ in Kiev, Ukraine, on July 1, 2012, witnessed Spain winning the ‘UEFA Euro 2012’ title, with a 4–0 win over Italy. The match’s first goal was scored by Silva. He displayed impeccable efficiency in the tournament, with two goals and three assists. His performances led him to be named in the ‘UEFA Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament.’
He signed a fresh five-year deal with ‘Manchester City’ on September 17, 2012.
The 23-man squad list of Spain, chalked out by Vicente del Bosque, for the 2013 ‘FIFA Confederations Cup,’ included Silva.
He became ‘Manchester City's Player of the Month’ for March 2014. On August 12, the same year, he signed a five-year contract extension with the club.
In February 2015, he won the ‘Etihad Player of the Month’ award. He netted a goal against ‘Leicester City’ on March 4, 2015, thus leading ‘Manchester City’ to a 1–0 win. With this, he achieved the feat of scoring ten league goals in a season for the first time in his career.
In August 2015, he won the ‘Manchester City Player of the Month’ award and earned a nomination for the ‘Premier League Player of the Month.’ The club, for the first time, topped their group, when they defeated ‘Borussia Mönchengladbach’ 4–2 on December 8 that year, in the last group-stage match of the ‘UEFA Champions League.’ The first goal of the match was scored by Silva.
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He won his second ‘League Cup’ with ‘Manchester City,’ when the club won 3–1 in a penalty shoot-out against ‘Liverpool’ in the 2016 ‘Football League Cup’ finals held at the ‘Wembley Stadium,’ London, on February 28, 2016.
He won his first ‘Etihad Player of the Season’ award in 2016–2017, when he played in 44 games and scored 8 goals, apart from providing several assists.
As the 2017–2018 season began, Silva provided 8 ‘Premier League’ assists, appearing in 14 matches. With this, he achieved the feat of garnering the highest total by a player in the top five leagues of Europe. ‘Manchester City’ signed a one-year contract extension with Silva on November 30, 2017, thus deciding to retain him till 2020.
