Manchester City Break U18 Transfer Record for Ayyoub Bouaddi

Manchester City are not easing off the accelerator in the first summer after Pep Guardiola’s departure. If anything, they’re pushing harder.

Days after dropping €135 million on Elliot Anderson, City have gone even bigger, confirming the capture of Lille sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi in a deal worth €100m — €95m guaranteed, plus €5m in add-ons. For an 18-year-old, it’s a figure that rips up the record books.

Bouaddi, who lit up the World Cup with Morocco this summer, has signed a five-year contract running until 2031. For a teenager, it’s a long-term bet. For City, it’s a statement.

In the club’s announcement, Bouaddi didn’t bother to hide what the move means to him: “Manchester City are, for me, the best Club in the world. It’s a dream to be here and be able to call myself a City player. I have spent most of my life working hard to become the best player I can be and reach the top of the game."

City’s midfield, though, is in the middle of a dramatic reshaping. Last week, they sanctioned the sale of 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri to Barcelona in a deal worth €76.5m including add-ons. One era out, another one paid for — heavily.

Bouaddi’s current market value sits at around €80m, but this has been the summer of swollen fees. With clubs across Europe paying premiums for youth and potential, the sense around the deal was clear: to prise him from Lille, a number close to €100m would be needed. City went all the way.

A record not just broken, but destroyed

When it comes to the most expensive U18 transfers of all time, Bouaddi hasn’t just edged into first place. He has blown the old mark away.

The €100m outlay is more than double the previous record, set when Manchester United paid Lille €62m for Leny Yoro in the 2024/25 season. That move now slides down to second place.

Behind them, the list reads like a roll call of the next generation. Endrick sits third. Chelsea’s Estêvão follows in fourth. Real Madrid, serial investors in teenage brilliance, appear repeatedly with Franco Mastantuono, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo — each signed at 18 for €45m.

• Tottenham’s €41.4m move for Archie Gray from Leeds takes eighth spot.
• Alessandro Bastoni’s switch to Inter occupies ninth.
• Wolves’ €40m gamble on striker Fábio Silva rounds out the top 10.

That flurry of deals has finally nudged a long-standing benchmark out of the elite bracket. Manchester United’s 2014 signing of Luke Shaw from Southampton for €37.5m, once a symbol of big spending on youth, has been pushed out of the top 10 after 12 years.

Now the bar has been reset at €100m for an 18-year-old. The question for City, and for Bouaddi, is simple and unforgiving: how do you live up to a price tag that has just redrawn the limits of the market?