Man City confirm £50m midfielder signing that hugely benefits Barcelona | OneFootball

Nico Gonzalez has completed his £50m transfer from Porto to Manchester City, capping off an expensive January window for the Premier League champions.

City had already landed forward Omar Marmoush and centre-back trio Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Juma Bah for a combined £127m, before turning attention to a midfielder.

Nico has signed a four-and-a-half year contract with City until 2029, with this window forming a considerable part of the club’s long-term squad rebuild following the cold reality of a dreadful season so far.

Nico is consider a 'six' or 'eight' who City hope will bolster their midfield ranks and help lessen the impact of being without Ballon d’Or winner Rodri.

City had originally hoped to land the former Barcelona talent for considerably less, around €40m (£33m), but Porto were adamant that a deal had to be the value of Nico's €60m (£50m) release clause. That is due to Porto owing Barcelona 40% through a sell-on clause, equating to €24m.

City are not believed to have triggered the release clause, meaning they haven't had to deposit the full transfer fee up front, but have agreed to fork over the full amount in structured payments.

Nico made his name at Barcelona during the 2021/22 season after graduating La Masia. He played 37 games, but was loaned to Valencia and then sold to Porto in 2023 for only €8.5m.