Danilo and Mendy the latest to come aboard as City set spending record
LONDON: Manchester City won nothing last season but their determination to put that right in the next campaign could not have been underlined more forcefully than by their squad-strengthening spending thus far on behalf of manager Pep Guardiola.
The total – not yet into August – is about to reach what would be a world record £230m after City set up the purchase of two more fullbacks in Benjamin Mendy and Danilo.
Last week they paid £50m for Tottenham’s England rightback Kyle Walker and now they are poised to spend on £51.6m on Monaco’s leftback Mendy to make the 23-year-old Frenchman the most expensive fullback in the history of the game.
The purchase of Danilo for £27m from Real Madrid was completed yesterday [SUNDAY]. The 26-year-old Brazil international has signed a five-year deal and will join City on their pre-season tour of the United States. His value is his versatility since Guardiola can use him in both full-back roles as well as defensive midfield.
However the transfer remains subject to a work permit application, meaning Danilo will not be making his debut when City face Madrid on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
The former Santos player joined Real in 2015 from Porto and started 17 LaLiga games last season. In two years at Madrid he won LaLiga, two Champions Leagues, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Last month City made Ederson the Premier League’s most expensive goalkeeper at a fee of £36m from Benfica after landing the Portugal playmaker Bernardo Silva for £68m from Monaco.
City’s spending surpasses a record set in 2009 when Real Madrid recruited Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso in the same window for £190m. Of course, City will face competition in the record rankings Paris Saint-Germain pull off their audacious pursuit of Barcelona’s Neymar.
A fraction of City’s big spending has been recouped by the £4.5m sale of defender Aleksandar Kolarov to Roma, seven years after he arrived in the Premier League from Roma’s neighbours Lazio for £16m. Over 247 games he won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups.
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