Club Brugge set to hand Manchester City cash boost through sell-on clause | OneFootball

Manchester City are set to reap the rewards of a sell-on clause once again, this time courtesy of investment from Club Brugge in the ongoing summer market.

Over recent seasons, City have made a concerted effort to capitalise on their Academy’s remarkable output – not just by developing players for the first-team squad, but also by generating significant income from those who move on.

With transfer fees continuing to rise across Europe, Manchester City have leaned heavily on sell-on clauses, buy-back terms, and performance-based bonuses to ensure that even departed talent continues to offer value long after leaving the Etihad Stadium.

The results of that approach have been tangible, with the likes of James Trafford, Jadon Sancho, and Liam Delap having all earned the Premier League giants future incentives through onward sales or career progression.

While many clubs view the end of a player’s time at the club as the closing chapter, City now treat it as a long-term investment opportunity, and as the 2025 summer window accelerates and clubs across Europe bolster squads, City are once again set to profit from smart planning.

As confirmed by journalist Fabrizio Romano this week, former Manchester City Academy star Carlos Forbs is set to join Club Brugge from Ajax in a deal worth an €8.5 million transfer fee, with the player having opted for Belgium over offers from clubs in England, Italy and Scotland.

However, as part of the agreement that saw Ajax sign Forbs from Manchester City in the summer of 2023, the Premier League giants included a 20 per cent sell on clause, as well as a buy-back option, in the deal.

As such, City would receive around €1.7 million from Forbs’ latest transfer which will see his career move over to Belgian football following a loan deal at Wolverhampton Wanderers last season.

This latest bonus follows on from a number of similar cases that have padded City’s financial model and added to their ability to reinvest in new talent or support contract renewals.

With homegrown talent like Divine Mukasa and Ryan McAidoo rising fast through the ranks at present, the club are already putting in place the next wave of contractual protections should they eventually leave for senior opportunities elsewhere.

Forbs, meanwhile, could use this move to reignite the potential he showed during his Manchester City Academy years, with the Belgian top flight likely to offer him both continental competition and regular first-team football.