Manchester City's new number 8: Mateo Kovacic
Jun 28, 2023
Manchester [UK], June 28 : Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic has signed for Premier League champions Manchester City on a four-year deal. The 29-year-old will be wearing jersey no 8.
Mateo Kovacic left Chelsea and decided to join Manchester City. The 29-year-old made 221 appearances in five seasons at Chelsea, winning the Champions League, Europa League, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, and collecting the club's Player of the Year award in 2019/20.
Mateo Kovacic will be wearing jersey no 8 which former club captain Ilkay Gundogan previously wore.
Ilkay Gundogan has left Manchester City after seven years to join Spanish club Barcelona. He achieved glory with Manchester City, as the team won a treble this season.
Manchester City won Premier League, FA Cup and the prestigious UEFA Champions League.
Other players who wore the iconic no 8 jersey at Manchester City were, Samir Nasri, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ian Bishop.
As per the official website of Manchester City, "During Mateo Kovacic's spell at Stamford Bridge, he wore No.17 for three seasons 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 before switching to No.8 for his final two campaigns for the Blues."
It further stated, "He also started his career as No.8 at Dinamo Zagreb where he played for three seasons between 2010 and 2013 before joining Inter where he wore No.10 for three campaigns."
While concluding it stated, "From there, the midfielder moved to Real Madrid for the start of the 2015/16 campaign where he wore No.16 for two seasons before switching to No.23 for his final term before joining Chelsea."
