Manchester City win Ruben Dias transfer race with £64.3m deal after ending Kalidou Koulibaly pursuit

Manchester City-bound defender Ruben Dias has 19 senior international caps for Portugal to his name
PA
James Robson @jamesrobsonES28 September 2020

Manchester City will end their two-year pursuit of Ruben Dias after agreeing a club-record £64.3million deal for the Benfica centre-back.

Pep Guardiola has won the race for the 23-year-old, who was previously a target for Manchester United, Arsenal and Juventus.

City’s manager turned to Dias after dropping interest in Kalidou Koulibaly, Jules Kounde and Jose Gimenez.

He overtakes £62.8m Rodri as the club’s most-expensive signing ever, with the deal taking City's spending on centre-backs during this window to more than £100m after the £41m arrival of Nathan Ake.

City have been monitoring Dias for more than two years, dating back to Vincent Kompany’s time at the club.

He was identified as a replacement for the legendary captain last summer when his release clause was £60m.

He went on to sign a new deal, which increased that buyout to £80m.

With Nicolas Otamendi heading the opposite way for £13.7m, City are convinced it represents good value for what they consider to be one of the most promising talents in Europe.

Koulibaly had been a leading target, but City walked away after refusing to meet Napoli’s valuation of more than £70m for a 29-year-old.

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