Over the course of five months, two hours at a time, David Villa sat down with a language instructor in his family’s Upper West Side apartment to master the fine art of English. Not just English, actually. Major League Soccer English.

“So in the field, I can think that way,” Villa said Thursday. “I can talk to teammates, the referees, the coach, the media. Better and better.”

It is for reasons such as this — and because Villa already has scored eight goals this season for a second-place New York City F.C. team that missed the playoffs in its inaugural campaign in 2015 — that he has quickly won the hearts and minds of club officials and fans. Unlike many aging, high-salaried players who have joined M.L.S. and then failed to live up to their reputations or contracts, Villa has proved to be a bargain — even at $5.6 million a year.

It is not just the goals. Villa’s work rate this year has been exceptional, especially for a 34-year-old forward whose greatest days — including World Cup, European and Champions League titles — came alongside better players with bigger teams.