Wilfried Bony has completed his big-money move from Swansea to Premier League champions Manchester City.
The
Ivorian striker, who is on international duty at the Africa Cup of
Nations, joins Manuel Pellegrini's side for an initial fee in the region
of £25million with another £3m in add-ons over four years.
Bony, 26, has agreed a four-and-a-half year deal. He will wear the No 14 shirt worn previously by Javi Garcia.
Wilfried Bony has joined Manchester City on a four-and-a-half-year deal. He will wear the No 14 shirt
The 26-year-old puts pen-to-paper on his deal with Premier League champions Manchester City
Wilfried Bony (posing with Ivory coast president Sidy Diallo) has completed his move to Manchester City
'It’s a great feeling for me, it’s a big honour to be here and it’s a great challenge,' said Bony.
'As
a player it’s always good to be part of one of the biggest clubs in the
world and it’s a good opportunity for me to be in that situation now –
I’m really proud.
'I
felt excited to wait for this moment and now it’s come, it’s fantastic.
I think it’s a great decision for me - Manchester City is in the
Champions League. You remember at the end of last season I said that if I
want to move it will be to a team in the competition because it’s a
great tournament that I really want to play in and one that I want to
win.
'It’s
a motivation for me to give my maximum to be in that place. City is a
big club with great players with a lot of experience; I believe we can
do it.'
Bony believes his fellow Ivorian and new Manchester City team-mate Yaya Toure (top) will help him improve
The striker leaves Swansea for £25million and will earn £100,000-a-week in wages
Ivory Coast's football federation announced the Bony deal on Twitter on Wednesday morning
Swansea later tweeted to say that the deal had not yet been finalised and would be announced in due course
Bony (right) posed for a picture with a young Manchester City fan ahead of his move
Bony scored past Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart in November as Swansea lost 2-1 at the Etihad
Earlier, the Ivory Coast football federation confirmed the deal on their Twitter feed.
Bony will link up with Ivory Coast team-mate Yaya Toure, and the striker believes he will make him a better player.
'I
speak with Yaya every day on international duty and I think he will
help me to become a better player and a more clinical striker,' Bony
added.
'I’ll be playing with great players here at City and this is an opportunity for me to work hard and to take my chance.'
Swansea
had been locked in talks with the Barclays Premier League champions
over the structuring of the transfer, with City having to satisfy
Financial Fair Play criteria.
Bony
will earn £100,000-a-week which is close to double what the striker,
who scored 34 goals in 70 games at Swansea, earned at the Liberty
Stadium.
Crucially,
the deal removed a £19m release clause that was included in the
original. Liverpool had been interested but are understood to have been
put off by his wage demands.
City
boss Pellegrini added: 'He is very difficult to mark because he is so
strong. He is an intelligent footballer who has skill and power. His
goals record has been excellent since he came to England. He adapted
very quickly to the game here and I think he will settle in at City
quickly.
'He
will be a very good addition to our squad. We now have four top-class
strikers and I am looking forward to seeing them work together.'
Bony scored more Premier League goals in 2014 than any other player as he hit the net 20 times
Swansea striker Bony turned up in a rather unique outfit for an interview with Sportsmail last year
Bony, pictured climbing above the Arsenal defence in March, says he always tries to be in the right place
