David Villa to achieve rare feat of leading and co-owning new USA club Queensboro FC

Former Barcelona and Spain striker David Villa has decided to quit from professional football at the end of the season. The player plans to retire at the J League. Villa is currently playing for Japanese team Vissel Kobe and has three league matches left before the end of the season.

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He played for major Spanish clubs like Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, along with a stint at MLS where he played for New York City. Villa made his international debut for Spain in 2005. He has since participated in four major tournaments, becoming an integral member of the Spain teams that won UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup, was the top goalscorer at Euro 2008 and earned the Silver Boot at the 2010 World Cup. He was Spain's all-time top goalscorer as well as the country's top scorer in the World Cup, with nine goals.

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Villa stated that he has been thinking about retirement for a long time. This is the result of discussions that he had with his family and people around him. He went on to say that he wanted to retire on his own terms and not be forced out of the game.

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Villa will co-own Queensboro FC

Villa commented that from now on, he will continue to enjoy football through all the projects that he is currently developing with the DV7 Group. David Villa will be associated with football, as he is set to become a part-owner of a second-division team Queensboro FC in New York that will be launched in 2021. He will also be captaining the side, making him one of those rare footballers who own and lead the same football club. The team will play most of their home matches in a new stadium having a capacity of around 7,500 at York College in the Jamaica neighbourhood of Queens. While a few games will be played at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets and NYCFC’s one-off venue for their sole playoff game.

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Villa stated that bringing professional football to Queens' diverse community is an exciting and unique opportunity. He believes that the beautiful game already lives there, thanks to the diverse culture who are so passionate about the sport. He signed off by saying that he could not think of a better place for QBFC to grow and that he was proud to be part of this project.