Man City to install statues of Vincent Kompany and David Silva outside ground

Sculptures of Vincent Kompany and David Silva will be installed outside Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium ahead of this weekend’s Premier League game against Arsenal.

A third statue – of record goalscorer Sergio Aguero – is set to join them next year with the three players recognised for their “unparalleled contribution to the club’s transformation”.

The trio have been instrumental figures during the golden era City have enjoyed since their takeover by Sheikh Mansour in 2008.

Influential Belgium defender Kompany, the club’s most successful captain, was the first of the three to arrive. He signed from Anderlecht – the club he now manages – shortly before the takeover and went on to win 10 major trophies with the club, including four Premier League titles.

He left in the summer of 2019, his parting gift being a stunning and vital long-range winner against Leicester in the penultimate game of a thrilling and ultimately successful title race with Liverpool.

Silva, a world and European champion with Spain, made 436 appearances and scored 77 goals for City after his arrival from Valencia in 2010. Widely regarded as one of the club’s greatest-ever players, the playmaker also won four league crowns as well as two FA Cups and five League Cups.

He left after a decade’s outstanding service to join Real Sociedad after the conclusion of the pandemic-hit 2019-20 season.

The statues of the pair have been made by award-winning, American-based Scottish sculptor Andy Scott, who was only able to meet Kompany and Silva virtually due to the pandemic.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the club’s chairman, said: “Ultimately, Vincent and David do not need statues to enshrine their achievements at Manchester City over the past decade.

“They are already revered as icons of their generation.

“But what these artworks give us, and generations to come, is the opportunity to be reminded of, and savour, the truly magical moments created by both men.”

Further details of the tribute to Aguero, who left the club at the end of last season, will be revealed in due course. The Argentinian, who is now at Barcelona, scored 260 goals for City between 2011 and 2021 and won the Premier League five times.