Borussia Dortmund trigger €30 million purchase clause in Manchester City defender’s agreement | OneFootball

Manchester City have now succumbed to an agreement put in place with Borussia Dortmund over the summer that will see Yan Couto leave the club permanently.

The Premier League and Bundesliga giants reached an agreement in early August 2024 that saw the 22-year-old follow-up a hugely successful loan at Girona by joining Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan for the 2024/25 campaign.

However, the loan deal to the German club was largely in the favour of Dortmund when it came to the player’s longer-term intentions, with it being confirmed at the time that BVB would have an obligation to buy the player in the summer of 2025 for €30 million.

The move to the top of the German game came despite widespread interest in the player’s services, with reports linking the former Coritiba starlet with moves to Premier League and Serie A giants Tottenham and Juventus.

But such has been the start to life in Germany for Yan Couto and the belief in the player’s longer-term potential that the aforementioned obligation to buy has seemingly been triggered earlier than expected.

That is as per confirmation from MailSport’s Jack Gaughan, who states that Borussia Dortmund’s obligation to sign Manchester City’s on-loan Brazil international defender, Yan Couto for up to €30 million has now been triggered.

Additional reporting from Manchester World’s Michael Plant has also revealed that City have agreed matching rights on any future bid accepted by Dortmund for Couto, while there is also a ‘significant sell-on percentage of any future sale included.

Yan Couto’s permanent move to the Signal Iduna Park will bring an end to a run of four successive loan moves away from Manchester City without making a single competitive appearance for Pep Guardiola’s side.

The senior Brazil international has developed his game significantly since arriving at the club back in 2020, via two temporary moves to Girona in 2020 and 2022, with an experience at Portuguese side Braga as well as his current involvement with Dortmund.

Couto has spoken openly about his decision to join Manchester City in 2020 despite high-profile interest from some of Europe’s other most prominent clubs, telling Brazilian media in 2022, “When I signed, I had meetings with Manchester City.

“They explained the project, that I would be loaned out. There were clubs like Barcelona and Bayern, but I accepted because I was a member of Manchester City itself. There are two methods: either go to the club or the group.”

Couto continued, “It wasn’t what I wanted for my career, but I accepted because I’d get minutes. Start at the bottom, but play. I gained a lot of experience, every season 2,500, 3,000 minutes. I’ve improved a lot. Our relationship is very good.”