Manchester City complete £16m Javi Garcia transfer from Benfica
Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester City have completed a £16m deal for Benfica's Spain international midfielder Javi Garcia.
City boss Roberto Mancini made 25-year-old Garcia a priority after Daniele de Rossi decided to stay at Roma and Nigel de Jong moved to AC Milan.
The former Real Madrid man won his only Spain cap earlier this year.
City have also signed Fiorentina defender Matija Nastasic, 19, in a deal worth £13m plus Stefan Savic moving in the opposite direction.
Garcia left Real Madrid for Osasuna in 2007, only for the Bernabeu club to exercise a buy-back clause a year later before he moved on to Benfica in 2009.
Nastasic, 19, has two caps for Serbia and made 22 starts for Fiorentina in Serie A last season after joining from Partizan Belgrade a year ago.
The new arrivals at the Etihad will join 31-year-old Brazilian defender Maicon, who has moved in a £3m deal from Inter Milan, while moves for Scott Sinclair and goalkeeper Richard Wright have also been confirmed as Mancini completes his transfer business.
City have already signed Everton's Jack Rodwell for £12m but decided against pursuing deals for Robin van Persie, who went to Manchester United for £24m, and Eden Hazard, bought by Chelsea for £32m.
Javi Martinez was another player of great interest to Mancini but he has moved to Bayern Munich from Athletic Bilbao in a £30m-plus transfer.
Striker Roque Santa Cruz and defender Dedryck Boyata have both left City on season-long loans.
Santa Cruz has joined Spanish side Malaga while Boyata has moved to Dutch outfit FC Twente.
Boyata, 21, spent last season on loan at Bolton and now joins up with former England manager Steve McClaren at the Dutch side.
City's Northern Ireland defender, Ryan McGivern, has joined Hibernian on loan until January.
The 22-year-old left-sided defender, who has 16 full caps, has made one appearance for City, as a substitute in a 5-0 league win over Sunderland in April 2011.
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Great signing for City, ideal replacement for de Jong but evidently decent on the ball aswell as being hard!
How can you say Mancini hasn't got any managerial skills? So what if he has spent money. Fergie has spent loads and is lauded as the best manager ever yet Mancini took his team to Old Trafford and won 6-1, did United even have a shot at the Etihad? No managerial skills...give it a rest.
Oh dear....
Funny, because a Benfica fan on here yesterday was saying he was woth £30m. Guess you know better though, bearing in mind your superficial knowledge of the game out there.
PS.I do not take anyone's opinions seriously if they cannot spell bought correctly (twice)
Inability to spell doesn't mean you don't know about football. Great logic.
So players like Aguero and Yaya Toure aren't worth watching? Seeing Yaya Toure tear up defences is one of the reason I enjoy watching City on TV live. Also you don't need a marquee signing to win the CL. Chelsea last season proved that with "good solid group of players" you can achieve anything. Who cares about winning the Neutrals over, when you can win the league.
Against Modern Football.
TAXI FOR MAICON !
If you do not realise your club has massive debts then you know absolutely nothing about your club.... they lost £200m last year alone.
When the UEFA fair play rules start as thngs stand City will not be allowed to play in Europe simple as that.
Before you reply I suggest you check your facts because right now you are in danger of making yourself look very silly.
The owner can afford it!!! pennies in his pocket if anything!
All the negative comments come from jealous and bitter rival fans...for anyone to try and say otherwise is just pure codswallop. Would they still be throwing the toys out of the pram if their owner was throwing millions about like confetti???
Don't be ridiculous
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You don't do satire or sarcasm then?