David Villa

David Villa broke his leg badly as a child but turned professional with Sporting de Gijón in 2001, moved to Zaragoza two years later, then landed at Valencia in 2005 for €12 million. Over five seasons there he became one of La Liga's sharpest finishers, enough that Barcelona paid €40 million for him in 2010. He won La Liga and the Champions League in his first year at Camp Nou, scoring in the 2011 final, then collected another league title after a 2013 move to Atlético Madrid and reached the 2014 Champions League final. He left Europe for New York City FC in MLS, won MVP in 2016, became the club's all-time top scorer and appearance maker, then closed his career with Vissel Kobe in Japan before retiring in 2020. On the international side he debuted in 2005, won Euro 2008 as top scorer and the 2010 World Cup with the Silver Boot, and finished with 59 goals in 98 caps - nine of them at World Cups, a Spanish record.