Manchester City Signs Ayyoub Bouaddi for €95m
Manchester City have struck a deal with Lille to sign Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi in a move that reshapes the heart of Pep Guardiola’s team.
City will pay an initial €95million (£81.4m; $110m), with a further €5m (£4.3m; $5.8m) in performance-related add-ons. The 18-year-old will sign a contract running to 2031, with an option for an extra year, tying one of the game’s most coveted young midfielders to the Etihad for the long term.
City rip up their midfield and start again
This is not a routine academy punt. It comes in the middle of a major overhaul.
Rodri has gone, sold to Barcelona for an initial €60m (£51.2m; $68.8m). Bernardo Silva has walked away at the end of his contract. Tijjani Reijnders has left for Al Qadsiah. The Athletic has also reported that Newcastle United are in talks to sign Nico Gonzalez.
City have not stood still. Elliot Anderson arrived earlier in the window from Nottingham Forest in a £116m ($153m) deal. Now Bouaddi follows, a teenager asked to grow quickly into a midfield that has lost its rhythm-setter and one of its creative brains in the same summer.
The message is clear: this is a rebuild on the fly.
From Lille’s youngest to Morocco’s midfield engine
Bouaddi’s rise has been sharp and relentless.
He became Lille’s youngest-ever player at 16 years and three days, debuting in a Conference League tie in September 2023 after coming through the French club’s academy. Luis Carlos, now Paris Saint-Germain’s football advisor, brought him to Lille in 2021, spotting the potential early.
By the 2025-26 campaign — his third full senior season — Bouaddi was a fixture. He made 42 appearances in all competitions, registering one assist as Lille finished third in Ligue 1 and booked a place in the Champions League. The numbers are modest on paper, but the role was not about headlines. He dictated, recycled, covered ground, and gave Lille’s more attacking players a platform.
Internationally, his story has taken a decisive turn. Having represented France from under-16 to under-21 level, Bouaddi switched allegiance to Morocco and made his senior debut in May. The timing could hardly have been better.
At this summer’s World Cup, he started five of Morocco’s six matches in a run to the quarterfinals. In the group-stage draw against Brazil, he recorded more touches than any of his teammates in a 1-1 stalemate, a statistic that underlined his growing authority on the biggest stage.
An 18-year-old, bossing phases of play against Brazil. That tends to get noticed in recruitment meetings.
A record fee, a long bet, and a new identity
City’s pursuit was no secret. The Athletic reported in July that they were pushing hard for a deal, with Bouaddi weighing up whether to stay in France or take the leap. The answer has arrived in the form of a nine-year commitment, if the option is exercised.
The fee underlines what City expect him to become. €95m guaranteed, potentially rising to €100m. This is the kind of number usually reserved for finished products, not teenagers still learning the nuances of elite football.
But City have gambled big before on potential. This time, the stakes feel higher. Rodri’s departure leaves a tactical and emotional hole; Bernardo’s exit strips away experience and invention. Bouaddi will not replace all of that on his own, and certainly not overnight, but he walks into a squad where minutes and responsibility are suddenly available.
The question now is not whether he is talented enough. That much is obvious. It is how quickly he can translate World Cup composure and Ligue 1 consistency into Premier League dominance — and whether City’s new-look midfield can carry them through another title race while he learns on the job.
