Manchester City continue to strengthen its weak defense line and has signed Benfica defender Ruben Dias for £65m to that effect, with Nicolas Otamendi moving in the opposite direction.
City splashed the cash to get their man as the deal for Dias is worth an initial £62m, with a further £3m subject to add-ons. The deal was confirmed in a statement from Benfica on Sunday night following City’s 5-2 defeat at home to Leicester.
The Portuguese club also confirmed they had agreed to a separate fee of 15m euros (£13.6m) to sign Otamendi.
Dias joins Nathan Ake and Ferran Torres as the Citizens’ third summer signing and has penned a six-year deal at the Etihad, where he will wear the No 3 shirt.
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“To have the opportunity to join a club like Manchester City is a fantastic opportunity for me and one I couldn’t turn down,” Dias told the club’s website.
“Their success speaks for itself. They have been the dominant team in England over the last few years, playing an attacking brand of football which I feel suits my own game.
“It is really exciting to be part of such a talented squad and to play for a world-class manager like Pep Guardiola, who has a proven track record of developing young players like myself.
“I believe I can improve here, at a club whose ambitions match my own and I will give everything to be successful and win titles.”
Dias has impressed during three seasons at Benfica and was in Portugal’s 2018 World Cup squad.
The 23-year-old scored and captained the side in Benfica’s 2-0 win over Moreirense on Saturday, after which he was pictured hugging the club’s sporting director Rui Costa.
City director of football, Txiki Begiristain, Man City’s director of football adds: “Ruben is a player we have admired for some time and we have been impressed with how he has progressed at Benfica.
“He has developed into a real leader and as a defender, he has all the attributes we are looking for. He is strong in the air, good in one v one situations and technically, he is very good, so we are confident he can thrive in our system.
“He is young, but has experience playing for a top European club in Benfica and we’re really pleased we’ve been able to sign him.
“He is another talented addition to the squad and someone who is only going to get better working under Pep.”
City’s top target had been Kalidou Koulibaly as Pep Guardiola looks to find a suitable replacement for Vincent Kompany, who left the club a year ago but Napoli’s sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli recently said the defender would be staying with the Serie A side this summer, while Sevilla’s Jules Kounde was also previously linked with a move to the Etihad.
City also denied placing a £78m bid for Atletico Madrid’s Jose Gimenez, after the La Liga club’s president claimed he had rejected an offer for the central defender.
Otamendi, 32, won two Premier League titles with City following his arrival from Valencia in 2015.
“They were five wonderful years, not just in a footballing sense, but also at a club where they treat you in the best way possible, from the chefs to the kitmen, through to the backroom staff,” Otamendi tells the club’s website.
“I’ve had the opportunity to win two Premier Leagues, to win the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup and the Community Shield. If you win titles it is because you are doing things well, and so I’m happy to have enjoyed these moments, and more than grateful.
“I was lucky enough since the first year I arrived to win a trophy, and later with the arrival of Pep to win even more. I am just happy to have played my part, with the support of my team-mates and the staff.”
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