David Villa: Former Spain striker to lead new US franchise Queensboro FC
- Published
David Villa spent four years with New York City before joining Japanese club Vissel Kobe last December
Spain's all-time leading goalscorer David Villa will be a lead investor in a new club in the United States.
The former Barcelona and New York City striker, who helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup, will spearhead a team in the New York borough of Queens.
Queensboro FC has been awarded a franchise in the USL Championship,, external the second tier of US football, from 2021.
Villa, 37, follows ex-England captain David Beckham and ex-Chelsea striker Didier Drogba in co-owning US clubs.
"Queens always showed love to me and my family while we were in New York," he tweeted., external "It's a dream to build a pro USL Championship club in the world's Boro."
QBFC's ownership group is led by Villa and New York businessman Jonathan Krane, chief executive of asset management firm KraneShares.
Villa joined Japanese club Vissel Kobe last December and plans to retire before 2021 to focus on the USL project.
The team will play most of their home matches in a new stadium with a capacity of around 7,500, and also at Citi Field, home of baseball's New York Mets.