Reports out of Spain say that Atletico Madrid and Spain forward David Villa will be the first signing of New York City FC.
While MLS and NYFC have denied that a deal is in place, various media reports have confirmed the move will happen and that Villa has agreed to a three year deal.
David Villa will be New York’s first signing. What I like about it is that Villa is not only a big name, but he is also still a top quality player. He is coming off a La Liga title-winning season with Atletico Madrid, where he scored 13 goals in 36 appearances, 32 of them starts.
The 32-year-old Villa has scored 56 goals in 94 appearances for Spain, and was part of the teams that won both Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He was named to manager Vicente Del Bosque’s provisional 30-man World Cup squad earlier this month.
The big issue is what Villa will do for the next 9 months as NYCFC will not begin play until March of 2015. During a interview earlier this month, NYCFC director of soccer operations Claudio Reyna indicated that a combinations of loans and short-term contracts would be used to keep the team’s players sharp ahead of its debut season.
With David Villa heading to New York and Kaka heading to Orlando, the two new expansion franchise sides are determined to make their mark in Major League Soccer next season.
