Villa thankful for A-League experience

Former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid striker Villa was announced as a City guest player to great fanfare earlier this year, only for the World Cup winner to leave Australia after playing just four matches for John van 't Schip's team.

With his body language questionable after successive defeats to end his brief cameo, reports circulated that Villa had opted to accelerate his departure for New York City at short notice, publicly citing family and commercial considerations.

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