It was announced today that Manchester City have loaned out United States No. 1 Zack Steffen to Fortuna Dusseldorf for the season. Steffen, who joined City from Major League Soccer side Columbus Crew in December (and was immediately loaned back to the MLS side) for a fee that was reportedly between £7 million and £10m, is coming off a very stellar showing in the 2019 Gold Cup.

In helping the USMNT to the tournament final, which resulted in a 1-0 loss to Mexico, Steffen featured in five of six matches and conceded just twice. He kept a clean sheet up until the semifinal round.

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Wednesday brought reports of Manchester City breaking the club transfer fee record to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez, also known as Rodri. Thursday brought his official unveiling and photo opportunities, via press release, in the morning, and then an industry standard introductory press conference (or as I call them in the business a “product rollout/launch”).

City paid £62.8 million (70 million Euros) to exercise his Atletico release clause, on the deal that was set to run until June 2023. The amount paid is just north of the £60m paid to Leicester City for Riyad Mahrez just last year. He’s signed a five year deal with the club, and he’ll don the #16 shirt with the Sky Blues. 

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It was an extremely busy news day for Manchester City as they 1.) broke the club transfer fee record to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez, also known as Rodri and 2.) announced the re-singing of right back Angelino from PSV Eindhoven.

We’ll start with Rodri, as City paid £62.8 million (70 million Euros) to terminate his Atletico contract, which was set to run until June 2023. The amount just eclipses the previous top mark, the £60m paid to Leicester City for Riyad Mahrez last year.

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Manchester City are set to make their first signing of the summer transfer window, and it’s going to be a record breaking one. Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez, also known as Rodri, will cost the club £63 million (€70m), and that amount will break the club’s transfer release clause due expense record. The current record belongs to Riyad Mahrez, City’s lone acquisition from Leicester City last year.

By Euros, this amount will place him within the top 25 most expensive players in history. By pounds, he would rank within the top 20. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has beaten his most recent former club, Bayern Munich, to the punch on this one.

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European football superstars crossing the pond to play in American Major League Soccer in the sunset seasons of their career has certainly become a popular trend lately. Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling could be yet another example, as he declared his interest in plying his trade in MLS someday.

Who knows, maybe he’ll defy convention and make the shift earlier in his career than the others did? Either way, it probably won’t be for a long while, as Sterling is only 24 years old. The English international was in the USA this week, where he spoke at the Wall Street Journal’s Everything Festival’s in New York City.

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Vincent Kompany is arguably one of the greatest, and certainly one of the most accomplished club captains in Manchester City history. For all the plaudits and silverware won, you could could even put Kompany in among the greatest skippers at any club.

The 33-year-old Belgian defender, City’s longest serving player, now officially moves on, having made major football history this past weekend- being part of the first domestic treble winning club in English history.

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Two days before Manchester City stage their 2018-19 Premier League title parade and celebration, Pep Guardiola’s men will aim to achieve the first ever domestic treble by an English side. No team has ever won the League Cup, FA Cup and League title in the same season, and the only thing standing in the Sky Blues’ way is Watford.

Yes, it’s a good time to be a Man City fan, as former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher will be the first to tell you. City have won the FA Cup five times, with the most recent glory coming in 2011. This will be the first FA Cup final appearance since 1984 for Watford FC; where they lost to 2-0 to Everton.

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