David Silva - Early Life

Early Life

Silva was born in Arguineguín, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, to Fernando Jiménez, a former municipal police officer who eventually was responsible for the safety of the Valencia CF stadium, and Eva Silva. His father, Fernando, is Canarian while his mother, Eva, is of Japanese descent, confirmed in an interview by his family members to the Canarian media. Silva has two younger siblings, sister Natalia and brother Nando. He is commonly called by the nickname Chino (Spanish for "Chinese") due to his physical appearance.

Silva began playing football in the youth team of UD San Fernando, near Maspalomas. Originally, he played as a goalkeeper, before becoming a winger and mirrored his game around his footballing idol as a youth, Michael Laudrup. When he was 14, he received an offer to become a youth player at Valencia CF, which he accepted. He stayed in Valencia's youth set-up until he was 17.