“He was here” – Nico Gonzalez reveals family message over Manchester City transfer | OneFootball

Nico Gonzalez has revealed in his first interview as a Manchester City player that his father played a crucial role in his transfer to the Etihad Stadium.

The Spaniard became the Premier League champions’ fourth and final big-money signing of an eventful winter transfer market, arriving from FC Porto in a deal understood to have been worth around €60 million.

Manchester City had seemingly exhausted a number of other options in the middle of the park before switching attentions over to the 23-year-old, including the possibility of signing Douglas Luiz on a straightforward loan from Juventus.

However, after a number of difficult results throughout January coupled with their form across November and December, it became very quickly apparent to club officials that money simply had to be spent to get the right name through the door.

And while the former Barcelona midfielder was currently enduring his strongest campaign to date in an FC Porto shirt, the decision was taken by the player to take up the opportunity of moving over to Manchester, in a move that will certainly please his father.

Speaking to the club’s official website in his first interview as a Manchester City player, Nico Gonzalez has revealed the impact that his father has had on the big-money switch from FC Porto, after his dad worked at the club as an Academy coach during the midfielder’s childhood.

“He was here [at Manchester City for] 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,” the 23-year-old revealed.

“He told me that I will enjoy it a lot here and I will be so happy here. 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 continued, “Obviously my Dad has always helped me so much. He’s always tried to take the best out of me and try to advise me in everything he could. And I think that that has helped me a lot and has helped me to 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 me to play here! So now he’s so happy and I’m proud.”

Nico Gonzalez could be thrown straight into the action for his new club as soon as this weekend, when Manchester City travel south to take on Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The La Masia graduate is also expected to be registered among Manchester City’s updated UEFA Champions League squad ahead of the knockout stages of the competition, meaning he could also feature against Real Madrid in a last-16 play-off tie.