Tijjani Reijnders becomes Manchester City's fourth signing ahead of Club World Cup

Dutch midfielder follows Marcus Bettinelli, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki in joining Pep Guardiola's side for tournament in the US

Tijjani Reijnders signs for Manchester City in the presence of City's director of football Hugo Viana. Photo: Manchester City FC

Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders ahead of this summer's Club World Cup in the US.

Reijnders, 26, joins from AC Milan for a reported fee of €55 million and has signed a five-year contract which will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2030.

The midfielder was signed before Tuesday's pre-Club World Cup transfer deadline and will be available for the tournament alongside fellow new recruits Marcus Bettinelli, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki, who also joined the club this week.

Reijnders said: “I am ecstatic to be signing for Manchester City. City are one of the biggest teams in the world, with the best coach, world-class players and outstanding facilities.

“Under Pep Guardiola, City have won so many titles and I want to help keep that going with a lot more success in the coming years.

“It is also a dream come true to play in the Premier League. This league has seen many of the best Dutch players perform through the years and it’s an inspiration to follow in their footsteps.

“I am really looking forward to getting going, meeting the other players and showing the Manchester City fans what I can do.”

City's director of football, Hugo Viana, added: “We are very happy that Tijjani has joined us and we’re excited for him to join Pep’s squad.

“He arrives here with extensive top level experience in Europe, both at club level as well as on the international stage with the Netherlands.

“Tijjani adds extra energy, composure and creativity to our midfield and working with Pep and our coaches will only see him go from strength to strength.”

A Netherlands international with 22 caps, Reijnders began his professional career with PEC Zwolle before moving to AZ Alkmaar, where he made 128 appearances. He joined AC Milan in the summer of 2023 and went on to play 104 times for the Italian side.

He enjoyed a standout 2024/25 campaign, scoring 15 goals in 54 appearances. His performances earned him the Serie A Best Midfielder award and a place in the Serie A Team of the Season.

City’s latest transfer activity continues an overhaul of the squad that began with the January signings of Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.

Reijnders describes himself as a box-to-box midfielder and says he wants to continue to add more goals to his game.

“I’m a box-to-box midfielder who likes to join the build-up from the back. I like to help the attackers, create chances and try to score a goal by myself sometimes.

“As a midfielder, it’s important to score goals as well. Two years ago, I didn’t score that many goals and I worked on it that summer and seeing what I needed to do better in front of the goal. This season, it worked out and I got on the scoresheet more.”