Nedum Onuoha has shared why David Silva once had to tell him off shortly after joining Manchester City.
Silva signed for City in 2010 and has gone down as a legend at the club, with a statue outside the Etihad Stadium to prove it.
But the Spaniard joined a very different City to the one that has gone on to win several Premier League titles and even the Champions League in the 14 years since.
The Abu Dhabi group had been at the helm for two years but City were still in the process of becoming one of England’s elite clubs.
Silva’s arrival heralded a new era of world-class talent at City, capable of remarkable stuff on the ball.
It was a rude awakening for some of the players already at the club, as Onuoha found out shortly after Silva’s arrival.
Nedum Onuoha explains why David Silva told him off
Speaking to the BBC’s Planet Premier League, Onuoha said: “When he first came to City I remember, I had the ball and he was coming towards me asking for it and someone was right behind him and I didn’t pass him the ball.
“It went somewhere else. He was telling me off, saying why did I not give him the ball.
“I’ve just spent the last 20 years of my life not passing the ball to people who are aggressively getting pressed by somebody else.
“He said: ‘No, no, that’s when I want the ball.’ Because that’s when he can manipulate the situation because now he’s in control of it as opposed to the person that believes that they are.
“Cesc [Fabregas], Silva, all the people like that, they’re geniuses, they see a different game altogether.”
It shows how far Man City have come
What a journey it has been for City over the last decade-and-a-half. Onuoha was by no means a bad player, a home-grown defender who went on to enjoy a solid Premier League career.
But he is a world away from the calibre of star the Blues have grown used to in the years since.
Silva, along with the signings of Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, were the instigators in pushing City up to the next level.
The magical playmaker spent 10 years at the club, playing an integral role in several great City sides, and it might not be where it is today if not for his early contributions.
