How Man City stole Cardiff City's millions with 15-cap international | OneFootball

Rabbi Matondo’s exit still haunts the Bluebirds

When Rabbi Matondo rattled the net in a packed Cardiff City Stadium in March 2025, sealing a 3-1 win for Wales in their World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan, few watching could have grasped the irony.

The winger was celebrating a lifelong dream - scoring for his country at the stadium where it all began.

But for Cardiff City, who nurtured him before his teenage move to Manchester City, the moment was bittersweet.

Rabbi Matondo exit still stings for Cardiff City

Back in 2016, Cardiff lost Matondo for a mere £500,000 in compensation after Manchester City lured him to their academy under the Elite Player Performance Plan.

The plan, designed to streamline youth development in English football, allowed wealthier clubs to sign young talents for modest sums - a policy smaller academies argue strips them of long-term rewards for their investment.

The Bluebirds appealed the move, attempting to prevent Matondo from playing for City until 2017 when the issue was resolved, but the challenge failed, and a reported half a million-pound fee was agreed.

Just three years later, City sold him to Schalke 04 in a deal reportedly worth up to £11 million - turning a tidy profit without Matondo ever making a senior appearance in sky blue.

Pep Guardiola himself praised the teenager’s "incredible pace" and "young talent" when asked about the Schalke interest in early 2019.

That transfer marked a statement of intent from the player. Rather than stay and stagnate in City’s reserves, Matondo followed a now-familiar route: moving to Germany in search of senior minutes.

He made his Bundesliga debut within days and scored his first goal against RB Leipzig later that year.

Matondo’s Wales moment comes full circle at on Cardiff City’s turf

His international allegiance was never in doubt. Though eligible for England and the DR Congo, Matondo has been unwavering in his commitment to Wales.

Since debuting under Ryan Giggs in 2018, he’s now earned 15 caps - finally scoring his first senior goal in March 2025 - at the Cardiff City Stadium, no less - in the same city where his football story began.

Since the lucrative move to Schalke, he’s had mixed spells at Stoke City, Cercle Brugge and Rangers, where he enjoyed memorable moments - including a Champions League goal against PSV and a near-miss at Anfield - but struggled for rhythm and regular minutes.

A loan move to Hannover 96 in early 2025 looked like a fresh start, and he scored a well-taken goal on debut, but injuries disrupted his progress once again.

Still, there’s belief that the best of Matondo is yet to come. Under new Wales boss Craig Bellamy - his former youth coach at Cardiff - the winger is hoping to finally build momentum.

“He knows me, my qualities, and what I can improve,” Matondo said after that long-awaited international goal against Kazakhstan.

For Cardiff City, though, the feeling remains bittersweet. Matondo's rise through their academy, and the manner of his exit under EPPP rules, still stings - especially when City flipped him for eight figures just a few years later.

He may not have fully lived up to the price tag yet, but the raw potential Cardiff lost still lingers as a cautionary tale.

They poured years into his development, Manchester City cashed in, and nearly a decade on, the Bluebirds are left wondering what could have been.