Manchester City completes long-awaited Riyad Mahrez swoop
After a move for the Leicester City winger fell through in January, Premier League champion Manchester City has snapped up Riyad Mahrez.
Published : Jul 11, 2018 01:55 IST
Riyad Mahrez has completed a long-awaited move to Premier League champion Manchester City from top-flight rival Leicester City.
Mahrez was strongly linked with a switch to the Etihad Stadium at the end of the January transfer window following an injury sustained by Leroy Sane, but the move fell through.
City has now broken the club's transfer record for the second time in 2018, the champion reported to have paid £60 million for Mahrez, more than its previous landmark fee for Aymeric Laporte.
Laporte's £57m arrival from Athletic Bilbao eclipsed the £55m City paid to land Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg in 2015.
"Riyad is a hugely talented player. He beats defenders and creates space," City's director of football Txiki Begiristain said.
"Over the past few years, he has established himself as one of the Premier League's most exciting players. We're sure he will bring additional attacking quality to our squad."
Mahrez's arrival on a five-year deal bolsters an already strong group of forward options for manager Pep Guardiola.
He will compete with Sane, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva for a place in City's powerful front line, with strikers Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero also available.
"I am so pleased to have joined City, a side playing great football under Pep Guardiola," Mahrez told City's website.
"Watching them from afar has been a pleasure. Pep is committed to playing attacking football, which is a perfect for me, and City's performances last season were outstanding. They're redefining the English game and I wanted to be a part of it."
"I think we can be successful over the coming years and I believe my own game can develop under Pep's management."
Mahrez was the star man as Leicester shocked the football world by winning the 2015-16 Premier League title, claiming the PFA Players' Player of the Year after scoring 17 goals to help the Foxes upset the odds.