Phil71 wrote:Best player they've ever had.
One of the best players in PL history.
I'd disagree. It's been a PR run narrative for a while.
Silva didn't even play in the World Cup final in 2010 (Cesc did). Silva was also the first to be subbed off in the final of Euro 2012 where both Cesc and Silva started. I'm talking about Cesc primarily because Cesc has gone from being rightly rated to underrated, while Silva has—all of a sudden—developed a Maradona-esque reputation.
City's best player during their first two title wins (and the FA Cup win) was actually Yaya Toure. But you won't find their PR driving home this fact.
Silva is definitely a top quality player. The current hype around him where he's apparently Iniesta-caliber is absolutely nonsense, however. He couldn't even break into the Spain side when Iniesta, Xavi, and Alonso were at the top of their games.
While it's become fashionable to shade Ozil and Cesc in favor of Silva, it's also telling that Ozil has more career assists than Silva, and Cesc has more career assists as well as Premier League assists than Silva. Yet, I don't see either in the discussion of great Prem midfielders.
Silva is class. But this is PR 101.