After two late substitute appearances, the first in a 2–0 home win over Málaga on 28 August 2005, Silva finished as an undisputed starter as the Galician side reached the UEFA Cup straight from the second-tier.

On 15 April 2010, he scored a brace against Athletic Bilbao for a 2–0 home win,[12] adding three assists in a 4–4 draw at Werder Bremen for the Europa League's round of 16.

[13] On 30 June 2010, Manchester City announced that they had reached an agreement with Valencia over the transfer of Silva and that he would join the club on a four-year deal, prior to the start of the 2010–11 season.

[31] On 25 October 2011, in an interview with a Spanish radio station, Silva revealed that he turned down Barcelona and Real Madrid so he could sign for City, and that he wants to stay at the club for years.

"[32] Former City and England defender Earl Barrett said he is almost impossible to stop due to his ability to create space[33] and Andy Cole, who mostly played for Manchester United, has stated that Silva "is a joy to watch.

In a match widely billed as the biggest game in Premier League history,[35] Silva delivered a corner which was headed home by Vincent Kompany for the winner.

[36] On 13 May 2012, with City heading into the final day of the season needing a win over QPR to secure their first top flight title in 44 years, Silva delivered a cross for Edin Džeko to score the equaliser in the 91st minute of the match.

On 11 November, he provided the crucial assist, a lofted through-ball, to striker Edin Džeko, who converted in the 88th minute to steal a 2–1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite missing the clash with Chelsea through injury, City prevailed 2–1 through goals from Aguero and Samir Nasri, leading them to their second FA Cup Final in three seasons.

Silva started the match and played the full 90 minutes, but the Blues were rocked by a Pablo Zabaleta red card, with a late Ben Watson header compounding their misery.

He was restored to the starting lineup in the final, where goals from Yaya Touré, Nasri and substitute Jesús Navas earned City their first League Cup triumph since 1976.

[56] However, following a strong run of form in the final five games of the season, City pipped the Merseysiders to the title, and Silva claimed his second Premier League winners medal to add to the one from 2011–12.

The Blues were largely blown away by Barcelona's immense quality, but the game was marked by an ingenious backheel flick from Silva to Aguero, who scored to pull one back for City.

[69] On 19 April, in a 2–0 victory over West Ham, Silva was caught in the face by the elbow of Cheikhou Kouyaté, requiring eight minutes of treatment before being substituted for Samir Nasri.

In the opening match of the Premier League season, in a 0–3 win at West Brom, Silva delivered a performance his manager Manuel Pellegrini labelled "unbelievable".

[87] He was replaced 10 minutes from time by Wilfried Bony, and Manchester City went on to defeat the Reds 3–1 on penalties, with Silva winning his second League Cup with the club.

[89] On 24 February, Silva scored City's second as they beat Dynamo Kyiv 3–1 in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie, his second strike of the European campaign.

Having put pen to paper on a three-year contract with the Blues,[94] the legendary manager stated that one of the reasons he had come to the club was to work with Silva, whom he described as a special player, and one of the best he had ever trained.

[96] He enjoyed a relatively productive European campaign that season- having provided an assist for Raheem Sterling against Celtic, he later scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the group stage.

[97] The Blues progressed to the knockout stages where they would face Monaco in the Round of 16, but despite another pinpoint Silva cross to assist Aguero, City crashed out of the tournament on away goals following a 6–6 aggregate draw.

[98] In the league, despite a bright opening to the campaign when City stormed to the top of the table, it proved a difficult season for the Blues, as they eventually fell away and ended up finishing third, 15 points behind winners Chelsea.

[104] In his absence, City delivered a sumptuous performance, smashing Tottenham 4–1 following an urging from manager Pep Guardiola to secure the win for Silva and his partner Yessica.

[109] It was the third Premier League title of Silva's career and his second time being named in the PFA Team of the Year, and he finished the season with 10 goals and 14 assists across all competitions.

[125] At the age of 34, Silva ended the campaign with a respectable return of six goals and 11 assists in all competitions, enough to earn himself a third appearance in the PFA Team of the Year despite City's underwhelming season.

[128] On 17 August 2020, Spanish club Real Sociedad announced the signing of Silva on a free transfer,[129] despite reports of a move to Italian side Lazio.

Silva made his senior international debut in the 1–0 friendly home defeat to Romania on 15 November 2006, and continued to receive call-ups to the side after good contributions in his first games.

In Spain's second group stage match against Sweden in Innsbruck, he assisted Fernando Torres with a pinpoint cross from the edge of the box,[140] with the former Liverpool forward scoring the opener in an eventual 2–1 win.

After he pulled Podolski to the ground, the German approached Silva, which resulted in an angry exchange of words and a coming together of heads that the referee decided not to punish.

With La Roja looking to defend the title they captured four years ago in South Africa, Silva started the opening match against the Netherlands in Bahia.

Following his retirement, Silva drew plaudits from many of his former teammates, being described as "one of the best ever"[173] and "one of the most talented players Spain has ever produced, without a shadow of a doubt"[173] by midfield partners Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.