Nico González joins Man City as club take window spree to £172m with the completion of the Spaniard’s signature.
Nico González from Porto is Manchester City’s newest acquisition for €60m (£49.8m) inside the final hour of the 11pm transfer deadline on Monday.
This is the champions’ fourth major signing of the winter window taking their spending to £172.3m.
The 23-year-old González’s transfer cost is equivalent to his release clause from Barcelona. The club reportedly arranged the transfer to spread the cost over multiple installments, despite City’s reluctance to pay the entire amount. The Spanish midfielder signed a four-and-a-half-year contract at the Etihad Stadium.
González said: “This is the perfect opportunity for me at this stage of my career. I am 23 and I want to test myself in England. There’s no better club than Manchester City for me to do that. Look at the squad they have here … it’s unbelievable, full of world‑class players. There isn’t a footballer in the world who would not want to be part of this setup.
“I know the reputation Pep has and I cannot wait to work with him. In fact, I am honoured he wants me to play in his team. I am truly excited. I just want to meet my teammates, and the staff here and then I want to play in front of the City fans.”
Because González can play as an attacking, middle, or defensive player, he expands Pep Guardiola’s choices and gives his team more depth. In addition to the veterans Ilkay Gündogan and Kevin De Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes, and the utility player Rico Lewis, who Guardiola has occasionally used centrally, the manager had been light in midfield following Rodri’s season-ending knee injury.
Additionally, City acquired the defenders Vitor Reis from Palmeiras for £29.6 million and Abdukodir Husanov from Lens for £33.8 million throughout the window, as well as the striker Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt for €70 million (£59.1 million) plus €5 million in add-ons. With City outside the top four, Guardiola’s main rebuild begins with the four new hires.