After the departure of captain Ilkay Gundogan, Manchester City announced on Tuesday that they had successfully finalized the transfer of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea to the club. Kovacic is a Croatian midfielder.
The clubs apparently agreed to an initial cost of £25 million ($32 million), with a possible £5 million in add-ons, and the treble champions announced that the 29-year-old player had signed a deal with them for a duration of four years.
After spending five years at Chelsea, where he won both the Champions League and the Europa League and made 221 appearances, Kovacic has decided to join Pep Guardiola’s team at Manchester City.
His presence at City compensates for the loss of Gundogan, who left the club on Monday to sign for Barcelona on a free transfer after having spent the previous seven years playing for City. He is City’s first signing of the transfer window.
“This is a brilliant move for me, and I cannot wait to get started with City,” Kovacic stated after the deal.
“Anyone who has seen this squad play under Pep’s direction is aware of how talented they are. In my opinion, these are the very finest that can be found everywhere.
It is obvious to everyone that they have won trophies, but beyond that, they are also the most talented football team that is now competing.
Before joining Chelsea, Kovacic won the Champions League three times with Real Madrid, making him the only player in history to have won the tournament more than thrice. Kovacic now has four Champions League titles to his name.
The Croatian midfielder started his professional career with Dinamo Zagreb before moving on to Inter Milan. He has played 95 times for his country’s national team.
According to Txiki Begiristain, the director of football for the city, Kovacic is a versatile player.
“He is versatile enough to play either as a “six” or a “eight,” has a wealth of experience playing for top-tier teams, and is familiar with the Premier League.
“Bringing him to City was a very simple decision because he possesses the tactical and technical qualities we are looking for in a midfielder,” said City manager Manuel Pellegrini.