David Villa to open Hong Kong youth academy in partnership with Premier League outfit Kitchee

Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are among the clubs who have based soccer academies in Hong Kong and the latest to join the market will be under the name of prolific striker, David Villa of Spain.

The diminutive forward spared no time after being named the MVP of MLS early this week before arriving in Hong Kong on Friday morning to begin a partnership between his DV7 Academy with domestic giants Kitchee.

Playing for New York City FC in North America after a flourishing career with Valencia, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in his home country, the 35-year-old said it’s always his long-term ambition to work with young players.

“When I was young, I played soccer like any kid in Kitchee Academy,” said Villa, who retired from the national team in 2014, but still leads the all-time scoring table with 59 international goals in 97 appearances.

“You are talking Messi and Cristiano as being the best players in the world but they did not learn a lot when they came to Barcelona or Real Madrid. They learnt a lot when they were young and this was the most important part of their life. That’s why we want to work with this academy day by day to help these young guys in Hong Kong so that they can become good players in future.”

DV7 is an initiative of the World Cup champion created this project as an extension his on-and-off-the-field values which made Villa one of the most respected and successful players in the world.