Manuel Akanji joins Manchester City - Dortmund receive fee below market value for Swiss talent

Manchester City have completed the signing of Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund on a five-year deal. According to numerous reports in England, the Swiss international makes the move to the Premier League in a deal worth a reported €18 million, just one year before his deal at the Bundesliga side was set to come to an end. Akanji currently has a market value of €30m. 

“I am delighted to be here and can’t wait to get started, said Akanji on the Man City website. “City have been one of the best teams in Europe over the last few seasons. They are brilliant to watch, play an exciting brand of football and compete for trophies year in, year out, so coming here feels like the perfect next step in my career. Pep Guardiola is an exceptional manager and this is an exceptional squad of players, so this is an exciting opportunity for me."

Despite the cut-price deal, the 27-year-old is now the third most expensive defender sold by Dortmund. Only Mats Hummels (to Bayern Munich in 2016/17) and Abdou Diallo (to PSG in 2019/20) were more expensive (overview). At Man City, in the meantime, Akanji will become the fifth most expensive center-back of the Pep Guardiola era (overview). Akanji is also the fourth most valuable central defender with an expiring contract.