David Villa

David Villa Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation: [daˈβið ˈβiʎa]; born 3 December 1981) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club New York City. He is nicknamed El Guaje (The Kid in Asturian) because as a youngster he frequently played football with children much older than him.

Despite sustaining a serious injury as a child, Villa started his professional career with Sporting de Gijón. He moved to Real Zaragoza after two seasons, where he made his La Liga début, winning the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España. He joined Valencia CF in 2005 for a transfer fee of €12 million and was part of the Valencia team that won the Copa del Rey in the 2007–08 season. In 2010 he moved to FC Barcelona for €40 million where he won his first La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles. After a €5.1 million transfer, he spent the 2013–14 season at Atlético Madrid, winning another La Liga title before leaving for New York City.

Villa made his international début for Spain in 2005. He has since participated in four major tournaments, becoming an integral member of the Spain teams that won Euro 2008 and the 2010 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. He is the first Spanish player to ever reach 50 international goals and retired from internationals after the 2014 World Cup with 59 in 97 matches, making him Spain's all-time top goalscorer as well as the country's top scorer in the World Cup with 9 goals. The goals-to-games ratio he has achieved for the national team has not been matched by any player since Alfredo Di Stéfano.

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