Manchester City’s January signing Nico Gonzalez has spoken of his ‘dream’ move to the Premier League in his first interview after joining the English champions on the final day of the transfer window.
Gonzalez was the last player of four that Pep Guardiola recruited last month in a bid to wrestle the club’s season back under his control after a woeful late autumn and winter period.
The Man City manager has spent over £180 million during the January window, with the midfielder costing £50.2m from Portuguese side Porto.
Additional signings include Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Omar Marmoush.
A former Barcelona academy star, Gonzalez will look to slip into the manager’s midfield set-up, and the 23-year-old is clearly eager to begin work under Guardiola and help the club re-establish its footing in the race for a top-four finish.
Speaking to the club upon confirmation that he will wear the No 14 shirt for the remainder of the season, Gonzalez stressed that he was keen to ‘start as soon as possible’ after his move to ‘the best team in the last 10 years’.
Nico Gonzalez has opened up on his £50.2million move to Man City from Porto this week
The midfielder is raring to go and keen to start working with ‘the best midfielders in the world’ as soon as possible
Pep Guardiola has spent over £180m during the January window in a bid to refresh his side
‘It was so easy for me to want to come here,’ the player shared of his decision to move to the Etihad. ‘I am really excited to meet the players and see the great level. They are the best players in the world, so I want to see how good I am and push myself.’
Gonzalez’s transfer has come on the heels of what he has described as his ‘best season ever’ playing for the Primeira Liga big beasts, and as such, he found it difficult to say goodbye to the staff and his team-mates.
‘But it was easy to come to Manchester because it is a great opportunity for me to grow and it is the best decision I could make,’ he added.
‘I am really excited because I have always wanted to play in the Premier League. It is a dream to be here. Also, I think City are not a typical English team as they like to play (with the ball) a lot and I love that. I hope I will enjoy it a lot.’
Joining Guardiola’s raft of world-class talents – and working under the manager himself – was another incentive to move to the Etihad, with Gonzalez underscoring is excitement at playing with the ‘best midfielders in the world.’
‘Obviously working with (Guardiola) will be incredible,’ he continued. ‘Everyone that I have talked to about him always talks so good and with him I think I can reach my full potential and become the best player I can be.’
But beyond Gonzalez’s move, the player has initial ties to the club, with his father Fran part of the Man City set-up until recently as an academy coach.
‘He has always helped me so much,’ Gonzalez said of his father. ‘He has always tried to bring the best out of me and advise me on everything that he could. I think that has helped me a lot.
Gonzalez joined Porto from Barcelona’s academy and is the son of a former City youth coach
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‘It has helped me make the right decisions and he always told me that to come here would be the best thing. Even a few years ago he always said that he wished that I would play here! So now he is so happy and proud.
‘He was here two years. That is why he always recommended that if I had the chance I should come here.
‘He always talks so well about Manchester, the city and obviously the team. He told me that I will enjoy it a lot here and I will be so happy here in the city. He loved living here and I even visited once and I really liked the city.
‘About the club, the first thing he told me is that the people and the place are amazing and the best he’s seen. I think I will enjoy it a lot.’
Gonzalez will look to play his first minutes for his new club in somewhat unusual settings, with Guardiola’s side in FA Cup action this weekend ahead of re-starting their Premier League travails.
The serial winners will travel to Leyton Orient to face the League One side at home on Saturday in the fourth round of the domestic competition.
