Manchester City concluded a $150 million spending spree ahead of the Club World Cup by announcing the signing of Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Reijnders moved for an initial fee of 55 million euros ($63 million) and is the second midfielder — after France playmaker Rayan Cherki — to join City in the special June 1-10 transfer window created to allow sides in the 32-team Club World Cup to reshape their squads.
City paid Lyon $41 million for Cherki and also signed Algeria left back Rayan Aït-Nouri from Wolverhampton for $42 million.
After deciding not to push to sign Florian Wirtz — the Germany playmaker is close to joining Liverpool, according to reports in the British media — City has spent around the same amount on three players.
Add this latest splurge to an outlay of more than $200 million in the winter transfer window and City has already spent at least $350 million on players in 2025 to provide manager Pep Guardiola with a squad capable of reclaiming the Premier League title from Liverpool.
Breakthrough season
Reijnders has just been named as the best midfielder in Serie A after a breakthrough campaign in which he scored 15 goals and added five assists across all competitions for Milan, which endured a dismal season and failed to qualify for Europe.
He joined Milan from AZ Alkmaar in 2023 for a fee of around 20 million euros (then $22.4 million) and recently signed a contract extension through to June 2030. That's the length of his contract at City, too.
City is releasing De Bruyne to end his 10-year stint at the club and now has Reijnders and Cherki to link up with Rodri in an enticing midfield set-up.
Reijnders said he was “ecstatic” to be joining City.
“It is also a dream come true to play in the Premier League," he said. “This league has seen many of the best Dutch players perform through the years and it’s an inspiration to follow in their footsteps.”
City director of football Hugo Viana said Reijnders — who specializes in being a ball-carrying midfielder — will add “extra energy, composure and creativity to our midfield.”
City announced the transfer of Reijnders a day after the special transfer window closed but appears to have signed him in time for him to play in the new-look, 32-team Club World Cup, which starts on Saturday.
City is in the same group as Juventus, Al Ain and Wydad Casablanca and its first match is on June 18.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
