Stand by for a day of high emotion at the Etihad Stadium next May when David Silva salutes the Manchester City fans for one last time. The 33-year-old Spain international said earlier this week that he plans to leave the club at the end of next season, which will be his 10th in Manchester.
When Silva arrived at the club in 2010, they were only two years into the Abu Dhabi group’s ownership and were still looking to break into the top four in the Premier League. By the time the iconic winger says his final goodbye in just over 10 months’ time, he could depart with five league titles to his name and a third Premier League triumph in a row.
Silva’s status as one of the Premier League’s greatest ever Spaniards is beyond question. These fellow countrymen have also added plenty to England’s top flight over the last two decades…
Adrian
Only a year after being promoted to Real Betis’ first team, the goalkeeper was brought to West Ham by Sam Allardyce in summer 2013. He had to wait four months until making his Premier League debut but, by the season’s end, he had supplanted Jussi Jaaskelainen as the Hammers’ first choice goalkeeper.
Perhaps his most memorable West Ham moment came in an FA Cup penalty shoot-out against Everton – not for saving a spot kick, but for scoring one that took his team into the next round. He was a hugely popular figure among Hammers fans but had to play second fiddle to Lukasz Fabianski last season and he was released last month after 43 clean sheets in 150 appearances for the club.
Marcos Alonso
The full-back first came to the Premier League with Bolton in 2010 and, despite being relegated two years later, stuck with the club for one season in the Championship. He returned to the top flight in 2014 with a loan spell at Sunderland and helped to keep them up, but he will be best remembered for his time at Chelsea.
Antonio Conte signed him from Fiorentina for £24million in 2016 and Alonso became a mainstay of the team that won the Premier League the following season. While Chelsea’s two subsequent campaigns have been disappointing, the left-back has provided an impressive total of 18 goals in three years, including a famous double against Tottenham in August 2017.
Xabi Alonso
The midfielder was among Rafael Benitez’s first signings at Liverpool in 2004 and he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional passer of the ball. He scored the Reds’ equaliser in the 2005 Champions League final and was hailed as one of the team’s best players that season.
He twice scored from his own half for Liverpool, against Luton in an FA Cup tie and Newcastle in a league game later in 2006. Despite consistently strong performances from Alonso, Benitez unsuccessfully pursued Gareth Barry in summer 2008 and the relationship between the Spanish pair was soured. He left a year later as an Anfield legend.
Mikel Arteta
The midfielder initially joined Everton on loan in January 2005 before solid performances in helping the Toffees finish fourth persuaded David Moyes to sign him permanently. He won a series of individual accolades at Goodison Park during a six-year spell in which he was part of the furniture in a consistently high-performing Everton team.
He couldn’t resist the lure of Arsenal in 2011, moving to north London from Merseyside, and finished out the remaining five years of his playing career at the Emirates. He captained the Gunners to victory in the 2014 FA Cup final and was soon given the armband full-time. In 11 years in the Premier League, he scored 42 goals in 284 games.
Cesar Azpiliceta
The man affectionately known as ‘Dave’ has been one of the few constants at Chelsea over the last seven years. He cost only £7m from Marseille in 2012 and helped the club to a Europa League triumph in his first season at Stamford Bridge. He was Chelsea’s Player of the Season the following year, drawing huge praise from manager Jose Mourinho.
Azpilicueta won two Premier League titles in his next three seasons, playing every single minute of the 2016/17 triumph under Antonio Conte. He played in a centre-back three under the Italian, a departure from his usual left-back role. He has already racked up 235 Premier League games for Chelsea and has continually impressed a succession of managers.
Bruno
Very few players make their Premier League debut at 36, but that was Bruno’s reward for five years of sterling service to Brighton when they reached the top flight in 2017. The veteran right-back was a steady presence for the Seagulls in their inaugural Premier League season, playing a captain’s role as they beat the drop.
A hamstring injury in the early weeks of last season curtailed his involvement for 2018/19, but just as Brighton were looking destined for relegation and helped them to cling to their Premier League status before retiring at the end of the season. Bruno was the embodiment of a committed, unselfish right-back who was a gladiatorial figure at the Amex Stadium.
Santi Cazorla
The attacking midfielder joined Arsenal from Malaga in 2012 and he became an instant hit at the Emirates, scoring 12 goals and providing as many assists in his first season. He was a constant presence in the side that won the 2014 FA Cup, a trophy he helped them to retain the following year.
Cazorla frequently appeared near (or at) the top of Premier League assists and passing accuracy tables but a knee injury in November 2015 set in motion a string of injury problems that led to skin grafts being added to an infected Achilles tendon. It was not an appropriate way for such a gifted and honest player’s Premier League career to end.
Diego Costa
The hot-tempered striker arrived at Chelsea in 2014 and he made an instant impact in England, scoring seven goals in his first four games. He was in the PFA’s Team of the Year and scored 20 goals as Chelsea won the Premier League in his first season in London.
Sadly, Costa’s time in England was marred by controversial incidents such as a stamp on Steven Gerrard and a nasty challenge on fellow Spaniard Adrian. He was a damn good player, though, hitting another 20 goals in the Blues’ 2017 league triumph before being told by Antonio Conte via text that he was free to leave Chelsea, which he did later that year.
Gerard Deulofeu
Having been unable to break into Barcelona’s first team, the talented forward signed on loan for Everton in 2013 at the start of Roberto Martinez’s reign. He caught at the eye at Goodison Park as he helped the Toffees to finish in the top six, being recalled by Barcelona in summer 2014.
Just over a year later, he was back at Everton permanently but did not have the same impact second time around. Since joining Watford in January 2018, though, Deulofeu has evolved into a consistent performer with far greater end product, scoring 10 goals in 30 games for the Hornets last season.
David de Gea
Edwin van der Sar would be a tough act to follow at Manchester United and a mistake on De Gea’s Premier League debut did not bode well. However, after being dismissed as too physically light to succeed in English football, the goalkeeper bulked up and soon showed that he was even better than his predecessor as United’s number one.
Indeed, he went on to be widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in the world. He was in the PFA Team of the Year four times in a row from 2015 to 2018 and has constantly produced logic-defying saves and imperious performances, such as that at the Emirates in 2017 and against Tottenham last season.