New Manchester City player Nolito has revealed he rejected an offer from Barcelona in order to play football again under the guidance of Pep Guardiola. Manchester City paid 13.8 million pounds to Celta Vigo for the 29-year-old Spaniard and beat Barcelona to his signature. Nolito had made his debut in professional football at Barcelona in the 2010-2011 season, under head coach Pep Guardiola.
Nolito said: "The truth is I enjoyed working with him in Barcelona even though it wasn't much time. It's a reason for me to come here but not the only one. But it was also about City, they have a great team, it's a great project, they got to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season and the truth is I will try to help this club achieve great things. I thought it was the best decision for me and my career. I have come to the Premier League to play with City and under Pep Guardiola, who will play me in the first team, and I am very happy with the decision I took. It took me just two days to make the decision."
Pep Guardiola did not use Nolito too much in the first team at Barcelona though, he spent most of his time at the second team before being sold to Benfica in Portugal. He returned to Spain at Celta Vigo in 2013, where he scored 39 goals in 100 league appearances. Nolito added: "I wish Barcelona all the best. I am very proud of Barcelona's interest, but now I am here and I think I made the best decision to come here. I was fortunate to play in Barcelona, although not much in the first team, and now I am excited about playing at City and I will try to do great things here."
Manchester City are 5/2 at Bet365 to win the Premier League this season.
scepan7 7 years ago
I'm not surprised by this decision by Nolita because I think it is a matter of money and will have more space to play in the City. He is a player in mature years. He wants to make money. I think he knows he would not have played a lot in Barcelona . Maybe he had an agreement with Pepe that will be in the top 11 and that...
I'm not surprised by this decision by Nolita because I think it is a matter of money and will have more space to play in the City. He is a player in mature years. He wants to make money. I think he knows he would not have played a lot in Barcelona . Maybe he had an agreement with Pepe that will be in the top 11 and that will be the main striker . He had a good season behind him and has played for the national team .
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muzejpri 7 years ago
I must say that I am not surprised by this choice by Nolito. He had great last season, and played in starting eleven for Spain during this years Euro. Now he had two choices - either join probably strongest club in the World, be a jocker on the bench and win titles by playing little. Or join Guardiolas new club, play in...
I must say that I am not surprised by this choice by Nolito. He had great last season, and played in starting eleven for Spain during this years Euro. Now he had two choices - either join probably strongest club in the World, be a jocker on the bench and win titles by playing little. Or join Guardiolas new club, play in starting lineup and try to fight for trophies by his own play, not by watching others doing job that he would want to do. City just started buying players, they should sell 5-6 Pelegrinis mid-tier signings and get few other top class players if they want to win Premier League title.
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sharpe 7 years ago
I guess one of the reasons for that decision was not only that Guardiola is the new City manager but also the greater chance for him to have more playing time in Manchester along with the higher pay-check I guess. So not just the Guardiola like I guess, things are always more complicated than some players trying to manifest...
I guess one of the reasons for that decision was not only that Guardiola is the new City manager but also the greater chance for him to have more playing time in Manchester along with the higher pay-check I guess. So not just the Guardiola like I guess, things are always more complicated than some players trying to manifest them.
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mannixx 7 years ago
I dont see the point of buying 29 years old forward, looks like Manchester City didnt learn anything from buying Negredo few years ago and he did nothing in Premier league. I think at 29 years old he only thinks about the money and Manchester City probably ofered more than Barcelona.
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