Manchester City announce £34.9m arrival of Benfica keeper

Rob McCarthy

Manchester City have announced that goalkeeper Ederson will join the club from Portuguese side Benfica on July 1.

City have been chasing the Brazilian-born stopper for some time but complications over his ownership rights and agent fees have delayed the announcement of the deal.

However, those problems have now been rectified and the 23-year-old will move to The Etihad when the transfer window officially opens in July.

The £34.9m fee will break the world record for a goalkeeper, which had been held by Gianluigi Buffon for 16 years after his switch of around £30m from Parma to Juventus in 2001.

That transfer fee is almost certainly going to be smashed again over the coming months, however, as David de Gea’s future at Manchester United continues to be in doubt – despite the latest reports that Real Madrid have ended their interest in the player.

As for Ederson, he is delighted to be moving to City, as he told the club’s official website: “I like everything about Manchester City. I have always had the dream to play in English football and now I’m going to make it true.

“With Pep Guardiola, City are growing more and more. He is putting in place a young team for the future. Those were important factors in making my decision.

“Manchester City has an amazing squad. I think they managed to have a good season. Next season, we will have to be focused to achieve the goal of winning trophies.”