David Villa is the face of the NYCFC franchise. He was the first designated player the club signed, and has been a model player on and off the field. Villa carried NYCFC through the first season, and was rewarded for his efforts this year with a stronger attacking force, like Jack Harrison and Steven Mendoza. This year, the captain was also rewarded for his hard work with NYCFC’s first playoff appearance. The team bowed out in the semifinal in a 7-0 aggregate loss to Toronto FC. However, the entire game he was giving it his all, even when NYCFC was down by multiple goals and all seemed hopeless.
David Villa: 2015 vs 2016
As highlighted previously, Villa has worked tremendously hard for NYCFC on the field. Here is a comparison of the two years Villa spent at NYCFC.
2015: 18 goals, 0.64 goals per 90, 138 shots, 4.94 shots per 90, 64 shots on goal
2016: 23 goals, 0.72 goals per 90, 166 shots, 5.21 shots per 90, 68 shots on goal
These statistics show that there wasn’t much improvement. However, at Villa’s stage of his playing career, even a slight improvement is impressive. He increased goals and goals/90, shots and shots/90, and shots on goal. Part of that can be attributed to more minutes, but a big part of this improvement is due to better players around him giving him the opportunity to do what he does best: be a clinical finisher. Even though he had 50 percent of the assists he had in 2015, Villa was not brought to NYCFC to get assists. Overall, this season was a step up for Villa, who is continuing to show why NYCFC invested in him.
David Villa Comparison with Other Top Forwards
David Villa finished second in the MLS Golden Boot race, but goals don’t tell the full story of his efforts. Overall, Villa was the third best forward, behind Sebastian Giovinco and Bradley Wright-Phillips. However, Giovinco is a different type of forward. Wright-Phillips and Villa are forwards in the same fold. You can see where Villa ranks in certain key statistics below:
First: Minutes and Shots on Goal
Second: Appearances, Goals, Shots/90, and SoG/90
Third: Goals/90
Fifth: Goals+Assists/90
Sixth: Assists and Assists/90
Clearly, his signing was worth every penny for NYCFC. He outperformed most forwards, but those forwards received less salary. However, for NYCFC it was worth is because he is so instrumental to the club. As of July, Villa had the third highest number of jerseys sold this year. So, NYCFC are recouping their investment on the field and off the field.
The Future
Currently, Villa is signed with the club until the end of next season. However, there have been talks to sign him to a contract extension. If there is no contract extension signed this off season, it will be interesting to see how NYCFC handle his contract. If he continues this form until the end of next season, there should be no reason why they wouldn’t extend him. Also, NYCFC have his rights, so in order for another team to sign him they would have trade for his rights from NYCFC. Either way, NYCFC will come out on top. Hopefully, they will be able to come to an agreement that benefits both the club and the player, and honors him like he deserves.
