The former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is not a man who likes to admit to his mistakes.
Over the course of 26 years at Old Trafford he bought 99 players, and sold and released even more, but only once during his reign did he admit to an error.
According to an interview with MUTV (h/t John Drayton of the Daily Mail), that was the horribly premature sale of Jaap Stam, arguably then still the world’s best central defender, to Lazio in the summer of 2001.
But in retirement, with his legacy now secured, there have been further admissions of other mistakes, and the Manchester Evening News recently reported Ferguson believes it was a mistake not to sign the Spanish midfielder David Silva from Valencia in 2010.
The history of the last five years in the Premier League could have been very different if Ferguson had followed up on his interest in Silva and brought him to the red half of Manchester, but instead he ended up signing for their neighbours Manchester City.
In the manager’s dugout at Old Trafford, and now further back in the same stand in his retirement, Ferguson has watched as Silva has become recognised as the best player in the Premier League.
It is a view increasingly shared across the Premier League with other leading managers.
Last week I spent some time with Alan Pardew in the build-up to Crystal Palace’s game with Manchester City, who said, “Silva has to be the most influential player in the Premier League, if he slips the net, then he can really unlock you.”
Two days later Pardew would have been relieved to see Silva did not make the team sheet for the game against City this weekend, and his absence was immediately obvious.
At Selhurst Park, City were not at their best, and for the first 90 minutes unable to breach the Palace defence, clearly missing the genius of Silva and his penetrative passing.
Without the Spaniard City did not pose the same threat and were ultimately fortunate to secure a last-minute win in south London.
Across the Premier League landscape, other players might have more glamour and sell more shirts, but none can match Silva’s brilliance.
Quite simply, no one does what he does better, and at 29, he is now a player at his absolute peak.
Silva has a rare ability to find space in that crucial position between the forward line and midfield, where his quick feet and vision allow him to slip passes through to overlapping midfielders or the strikers ahead of him.
It is highly unlikely Sergio Aguero would be quite as prolific and effective without Silva.
Aware of everything around him, the Spaniard always seeks the ball, and when in possession, looks for an attacking pass.
As his former team-mate Edin Dzeko told ESPN, "For me, he is the best player in the Premier League…To have him here with us is an amazing thing, because with David you can always score goals."
After only five seasons he is already 15th on the list of the Premier League’s all-time assist-makers, having created 51 goals at an average of just under 10 a season since he arrived in 2010.
In that time Silva has also created 454 chances, an impressive 85 more than any other player in the Premier League, per ESPN FC.
A team is never one man, but Silva is the heart of this City side, the player who brings out the best from the stellar cast around him.
It is therefore a curiosity Silva has never won either the PFA or FWA Player of the Year awards, and indeed has only once been voted into the PFA team by his peers.
The midfielder does not come close to getting the recognition he so richly deserves in the Premier League and beyond.
But he is not a man for self-promotion, interviews are rare, and he once admitted one of the reasons he enjoyed living in Manchester was for the anonymity it afforded him.
After already winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup, Silva needs the Champions League to complete his collection at club level.
A first Manchester City triumph in the competition, which they kick off with an opening fixture against last year’s finalists Juventus on Tuesday night, would have the dual effect of raising Silva’s profile here and abroad.
But, of course, Silva already has the big one, a World Cup, two European Championships and the surprisingly impressive international record of 91 caps and 23 goals for Spain.
This is a body of work neither of his two leading rivals for the title of the Premier League’s best player, City team-mate Aguero and Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, can compete with.
Aguero is a blur of speed and clinical in front of goal, and Hazard can also be a joy to watch, but Silva’s haul of medals for club and country and his overall more complete game trumps them both.
Silva is no Lionel Messi, Neymar or Cristiano Ronaldo, but until the impending flood of television money can lure in a more iconic talent, Silva is likely to remain the best player in the Premier League.