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Spain's Villa reveals little about his club future

Source: Agencies | June 19, 2009, Friday | Print Edition

DAVID Villa has made a decision about where he will play club football next season, although the Spain striker isn't saying where yet.

The Valencia striker said on Wednesday that he has "made a decision and my representative knows it and so I'm relaxed."

Villa scored the only goal on Wednesday in his team's 1-0 win over Iraq at the Confederations Cup. He had shunned the media since his arrival in South Africa, but he has been linked to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Villa's 30th international goal allowed Spain to earn a record tying 14th straight win and spot in the semifinals of the World Cup warm-up tournament.

"To compare him to the rest of the players in Europe, I would say that him and (Fernando) Torres can play with nearly any team in the world," said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque, who refused to a put a price tag on his star striker.

The latest reports had Barcelona and Madrid offering up to 50 million euros (US$70 million) for Villa, who was top scorer at last summer's European Championship.

After his brief comment to television cameras after the match, Villa walked past reporters with his head down and headphones covering his ears, a scene that has played out at nearly every Spanish training or match day.

"Nobody likes all of this attention, but he's trying to stay focused on the Confederations Cup and whatever happens afterward we'll see," Spain and Valencia teammate Carlos Marchena said.

Villa's goal against Iraq saw him pass Fernando Hierro to sit second to all-time leading scorer Raul Gonzalez, who scored 44 goals in 102 games compared to Villa's total from 46 appearances. The 28-year-old Asturias native ensured Spain joined Brazil, France and Australia as the only teams to win 14 straight games. No team has ever won 15, a feat Spain can achieve on Saturday with a victory against South Africa.

Villa has been an integral member of Spain which hasn't lost since November 2006 and is also only one match away from equaling Brazil's record 35-match unbeaten run.

Del Bosque said Villa's achievements speak for themselves.

"He's approaching the 100 cap mark, a number that seemed nearly impossible to reach a while ago," Del Bosque said.

(Agencies)

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