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Real Madrid defender Danilo joins Manchester City

SoccerNews in General Soccer News 23 Jul 2017

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Manchester City have completed the signing of Brazilian right-back Danilo from Real Madrid for a reported fee of £26.5million.

The 26-year-old has signed a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium.

Danilo’s arrival takes City’s spending on full-backs past the £70m mark this close-season after they paid an initial £45m for Tottenham’s Kyle Walker – a deal that could rise to an eventual £50m.

City have seen a number of defenders depart the club since the end of last season. Aleksandar Kolarov was sold to Roma on Saturday, following Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna in leaving.

Pep Guardiola is understood to envisage using Danilo in a variety of roles, including left-back and defensive midfield, meaning he would not merely be cover for Walker on the right-hand side of defence.

“I am very, very happy to be joining Manchester City,” Danilo told City’s official website.

“There has been strong interest from other clubs, but it has always been my ambition to play for Pep Guardiola. As soon as I heard of his interest, I knew immediately I wanted to be a City player.

“I can’t wait to get started and I’m looking forward to getting to know my new team-mates over the coming weeks.”

Director of football Txiki Begiristain added: “Danilo is a fine player who offers great versatility to our squad. He can operate in several different roles in both defence and midfield, increasing Pep’s options ahead of the new season.

“We feel he has all the attributes needed to succeed at City and we look forward to helping him develop during his time here.”

Danilo joined Madrid from Porto in 2015, having arrived in Europe three years earlier on the back of Copa Libertadores glory with Santos.

He endured a tough time in the Spanish capital, where he became a victim of the Santiago Bernabeu’s infamous boo-boys, forcing head coach Zinedine Zidane to regularly defend the player.

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