Although he left the club three years ago, David Silva announcing his retirement still qualifies “Manchester City Team News.” A true club legend, there is already a statue of him outside The Etihad (Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany too).
Silva, 37, had planned to play this season for Real Sociedad, but he suffered an ACL injury in preseason, and that would have kept him sidelined for most of the upcoming campaign.
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“Today is a sad day for me,” Silva said in a video he posted on his social media. “Today is a time to say goodbye to what I have dedicated my whole life to.
“I’m going to miss you. Thank you for making me feel at home.”
Team News
Looking ahead now, instead of behind, City will take on Atletico Madrid in Seoul, South Korea on Sunday.
Star man Kevin De Bruyne could make his first appearance of the preseason here, after having been an unused substitute in the win over Bayern Munich.
He’s training with the rest of the squad again, after having limped out of the UCL final win due to a hamstring problem.
Finally, it appears that Kyle Walker may not leaving for Bayern Munich, or going anywhere else for that matter, after all.
However, manager Pep Guardiola, at the press conference ahead of the Bayern match in Tokyo, called Walker “irreplaceable.”
Pep went on to say that he hopes Walker, 33, will stay at the club this summer.
We’ll see though, as that transfer saga still has some plot twists left in it.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.