Chelsea’s Croatian International Mateo Kovacic Completes His Move To Manchester City

Mateo Kovacic has finally completed his expected move to Manchester City from Chelsea.

The 29-year-old Croatian international midfielder joins Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning team in what is believed to be a £25 million deal on a four-year contract. He was unveiled by City in a post on their official Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/ManCity/status/1673737986796851200?s=20

In his first appearance, the new arrival looked totally elated as he said in a video message: “This is a brilliant move for me. Anyone who has watched this team under Pep knows how good they are – for me, they are the best in the world”.

Mateo's first words as a City player! 🗣️

— Manchester City (@ManCity) June 27, 2023

Kovacic lands at the Etihad just after the departure of the former club captain Ilkay Gundogan. The German international signed for La Liga giants Barcelona after guiding City to their historic treble last season.

Although different in his style of play, the Croat is notorious for his skills in the middle of the park. He might not bag as many goals as Gundogan but his talent in splitting open defences can only be a blessing to Erling Haaland in particular.

Fabrizio Romano, the respected transfer guru, was also on the ball in reporting the news. He tweeted: “Mateo Kovacic: ‘I enjoyed nice years but now it’s time to turn a new page and win’.  #MCFC ‘Man City is the perfect club where you can win a lot and I’ll do my best to try to win every year. Collect trophies is the most important thing'”.

Mateo Kovacic: “I enjoyed nice years but now it’s time to turn a new page and win”. 🔵🇭🇷 #MCFC

“Man City is the perfect club where you can win a lot and I'll do my best to try to win every year. Collect trophies is the most important thing”. pic.twitter.com/M34tpFHHXt

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 27, 2023

Kovacic graced two of Europe’s biggest teams prior to signing for Chelsea in 2018. He arrived at Stamford Bridge on a loan deal from Spanish giants Real Madrid, which was later made permanent. He was with Inter Milan in Serie A before that.

During his time at the Blues, the midfield star racked up a total of 221 appearances, notching six goals and providing 15 assists.