Claudio Bravo has signed for Manchester City from Barcelona, with the Blues confirming the signing on their website. The news hardly comes as a surprise, with Barcelona having confirmed signing Jasper Cillensen from Ajax earlier, allowing Bravo to sign for the Sky Blues on a four-year deal, with a reported fee of £17 million.
Speaking to City’s official website, Bravo said “I’m very proud to be joining Manchester City. I know the Club is building something very special and I hope I can be part of many successes in the coming years. I have followed City’s progress in recent years and obviously know some of my new team-mates from the Copa America.”
Bravo went on to describe how difficult it was for him to leave Barcelona, where he had won La Liga twice and the UEFA Champions League as well, saying “It is not easy to leave a club like Barcelona where I had two fantastic years, but the opportunity to work with Pep Guardiola was too good to refuse. Now I will challenge the other great goalkeepers the Club has and together I hope we can win many trophies.”
Pep Guardiola, who is a noted fan of the Chilean, expressed his pleasure at making the signing, saying “Claudio is a fantastic goalkeeper and an excellent addition to our squad. He has experience and great leadership qualities and is in the prime of his life. He is a goalkeeper I have admired for a number of years and I’m really happy he is now a City player.”
Bravo’s signing throws Joe Hart’s future into jeopardy
Pep Guardiola is reportedly unhappy with Joe Hart’s distribution, and had earlier expressed that he would be fine allowing the Englishman to leave. Hart, who started Manchester City’s game against Steaua Bucarest last night, completed a fine game, but is in limbo since a potential loan move to Everton broke down due to his wage demands.
Whatever the case, Guardiola has finally got the goalkeeper he wanted, and has probably made his final signing of the transfer window. Bravo could also potentially play in the weekend’s fixture against West Ham United.
Having won the league in his last two seasons, while also captaining Chile to consecutive Copa America wins, Guardiola will be hoping that Bravo's luck with titles continues, as Manchester City play out their challenge on the Premier League and Champions League.
