Manchester City’s €100m Gamble on Pavlovic That Fell Through

Manchester City were ready to tear up the market for Aleksandar Pavlovic. He simply wasn’t interested.

According to Bild, the Bayern Munich midfielder sat at the top of City’s shortlist as early as March, when the club identified the 22-year-old as their preferred signing for the heart of their midfield. The plan was bold: pay up to €100 million, drop him straight into a new-look core, and build the next era around him.

The timing was no coincidence. By spring, it was already clear inside the club that Pep Guardiola would walk away and Enzo Maresca would step into the technical area. The Italian arrived with his own ideas and his own conviction that Pavlovic should anchor his side. He even tried to convince the player personally.

It went nowhere.

Pavlovic, a Germany international, categorically ruled out a move. No Premier League adventure, no Guardiola legacy project, no Maresca rebuild. He wanted Bayern, not England. Because of that firm stance, City never even put an official offer on the table.

So the club pivoted. And did it with a sledgehammer.

This summer, City ripped out the core of their midfield. Rodri left for Barcelona. Bernardo Silva headed to Real Madrid. Tijjani Reijnders moved to Al-Qadsiah. Nico Gonzalez joined Newcastle. Four pillars gone in one window, leaving a gaping hole where City’s control once lived.

For a long stretch of the summer, there was just one major reinforcement lined up: Elliot Anderson, signed from Nottingham for €135 million. One big swing, but nowhere near enough for a team that had just lost its brain trust.

The urgency grew. The chequebook followed.

Shortly before the window closed, City moved again, landing Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for €95 million and Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea for €145 million. Three midfielders, €375 million in fees, all in the same department that was supposed to be Pavlovic’s new home.

The player at the centre of it all, though, stayed put.

Pavlovic is a Bayern product, shaped in the club’s academy and pushed into the first team last season. He made 44 competitive appearances for FCB in that campaign, scoring four goals and adding two assists. His rise did not go unnoticed at international level either. Germany handed him his debut in June 2024, and he has already collected 15 caps.

City rebuilt without him. Bayern kept him. If this is how valuable he looks at 22, what will he be worth the next time Europe’s giants come calling?