Aleksandar Pavlovic Rejects €100 Million Move to Manchester City
Aleksandar Pavlovic turned down a €100 million move to Manchester City this summer – and he barely blinked while doing it.
According to Bild, the 22-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder had been on City’s shortlist since March, when the club identified him as their top target for the heart of their new-look midfield. The Premier League champions were prepared to go as high as €100 million to get him. Pavlovic’s answer was simple: no interest, no move.
City’s plan, blocked at source
Inside City, the succession plan was already in motion by spring. Pep Guardiola’s departure had been accepted as a matter of course, with Enzo Maresca lined up to take over. The Italian, fresh from his work at Leicester, pushed hard for Pavlovic. He even tried to convince the Bayern man personally.
It led nowhere. Pavlovic, already settled and rising fast at Bayern, categorically ruled out a transfer to England. With that stance made crystal clear, City never even put an official offer on the table. The money was there. The will was there. The player wasn’t.
Midfield torn apart
City then watched their midfield get ripped up in one window.
- Rodri left for Barcelona.
- Bernardo Silva joined Real Madrid.
- Tijjani Reijnders moved to Al-Qadsiah.
- Nico Gonzalez headed to Newcastle.
Four pillars of control and creativity, gone.
For a long stretch of the summer, the rebuild looked oddly thin for a club of City’s scale. Elliot Anderson arrived from Nottingham for €135 million, a bold and expensive bet, but he was the only central midfielder through the door as the clock ticked down.
The pressure finally told in the final days of the window. City moved again, aggressively this time. Ayyoub Bouaddi came in from Lille for €95 million. Enzo Fernandez followed from Chelsea for €145 million. Three midfielders, €375 million spent, all to patch the hole that Pavlovic refused to fill.
Bayern’s homegrown anchor
While City scrambled, Pavlovic stayed exactly where he wanted to be.
A product of Bayern’s academy, he broke properly into the first team last season and quickly became a trusted option in the middle of the park. He made 44 competitive appearances for FCB, scoring four goals and adding two assists – solid numbers for a young central midfielder whose game leans heavily on control and structure rather than showreel moments.
His rise did not go unnoticed at international level. Germany handed him his debut in June 2024, and he has already collected 15 caps. For a 22-year-old, that is not just a nod of approval; it is a statement of status.
City have rebuilt without him. Bayern have kept him. If his trajectory continues like this, the question is not whether another superclub will come calling, but how long Pavlovic will keep saying no.
